Hot Like A Pixie
by readbetweenthesigns
Summary: When Quinn asked Puck to visit her while her mom was away she wanted only one thing. This is how it happened. Following on from The Ups And Downs Of Quick, a glimpse into how things might have been in Season 3. Rated M for language. Sequel to The Ups And Downs of Quick.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: No claim to ownership of any of the original Glee material or characters.**

**A/N: Just a little one off, a possibility for Season 3 - with a twist.**

"Let me be more clear," Quinn said quietly. "If you come over on Friday, you get to have sex with me," she whispered into his ear.

Puck shivered just slightly, the feel of her breath on his ear a remembered pleasure. No way did he want to get sucked into that rabbit hole again. He came up with some garbage, insulting her just a little before leaving her with his parting shot. "I'd rather raw dog a beehive," he said, fairly proud of that line, then turned and walked away leaving Quinn frowning, pouting by his locker.

"You know why she's doing this, don't you?" Finn asked as Puck laid back on the bench in the locker room, his hands over his eyes. "It's because she knows you're the only one who can give her what she wants. She can't have the original so she'll have a duplicate. Go do it, you know you want to," Finn advised, "just make sure you double wrap it and don't rely on the withdrawal method. It didn't work so well for you before, did it?"

Puck's hands slowly slipped down his face. He gave Finn a knowing smirk. "Dude, that's sick," he grinned, then his face fell. "Fuck. I'll have to go buy condoms. Blah, I hate those things. Makes you feel like you're fucking through a plastic bag," he grumbled. "Skin to skin is so much better," he nodded to himself.

"Here," Finn took a package from his locker and tossed it to Puck. "Take these, Rachel's allergic to latex," he shrugged. "We didn't find _that_ out till after. That was fun, explaining to her dads why she couldn't walk and was swollen up like you wouldn't believe. And it's one of the reasons we've only ever done it once," he finished softly, almost to himself.

"Cool," Puck smiled, "not about Rachel's swollen ermm….but for these, thanks dude," he nodded at Finn.

Finn smiled back. If Puck had looked closely, he might have noticed that the smile didn't exactly reach Finn's eyes. That might have made him wonder. But he didn't, he was too busy examining the box, checking the expiry date and the failure rate.

On Friday night, Puck found himself in a familiar position, poised above Quinn, bodies ripe for joining together, but still fully clothed.

"Wait," Quinn said, biting her lip, her eyes closed. "I can't do this, I was going to trick you, tell you I'm on the pill so that you could get me pregnant again. I'm sorry," she whispered, opening her eyes. "I'm not using any form of birth control and I'm at the most fertile part of my cycle, that's why it had to be tonight. I'm so sorry," she whispered again, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I got it, trust me," Puck advised, leaning in for another long kiss. "I came prepared," he growled into her throat feeling his body throb with need. No way was he going home in this condition. The very least he was getting was a hand job. He rather fuck her brains out but if she didn't want to, she didn't want to. No is no and all that.

"You have condoms?" Quinn asked, her voice breathy, excited. "Really? You're not just _saying_ that?" she wanted desperately to believe him, needed him to ease the ache deep inside her.

"You can put it on for me if you want," he offered, kneeling up between her wide spread thighs and pulling off his shirt, unfastening his jeans. "Just to be sure," he smiled, his eyebrow arched up.

Quinn did as he suggested. Several times. They used almost all the pack during the weekend that Judy Fabray cruised up and down the Ohio River tasting wine, believing her daughter was alone and taking care of herself.

Four weeks later Puck was emptying the contents of his bag into his locker, his version of filing his homework. He looked to the side out of the corner of his eye, recognising from the sudden hush in the hallway that something interesting was about to blow up. He felt rather than heard someone with high heels stop at the back of him. Fair enough, he thought back over the last week or two. Which girl had he pissed off now? Nope, he couldn't think of any, except maybe those twins from Dayton but he hadn't told them he was still in high school so they probably wouldn't think to look for him here. Plus, he'd only heard one pair of feet now that he thought about it. He carried on 'filing' his schoolbooks, hearing the whispers of everyone in the hallway. He heard a foot tapping. There was only one person in the whole of Lima who could do that and make it look cool at the same time as sounding pissed off.

"What have I done now, Fabray?" he sighed as he turned round to meet a pair of incredibly angry green eyes. No, they weren't just angry, they weren't just pissed, they were _furious_.

"'I got it'?" she asked through gritted teeth. "'Trust me'?" she flung at him followed by a small white stick that bounced off his chest and landed at his feet. "Do you actually _know_ what birth control is?" she asked, her voice getting louder and louder. "Is it just a _game_ to you?" she said as she stepped right up to him, her finger poking his chest where the stick had hit. "Did you just have a brilliant idea, like, I don't know, ooh, it's Friday night, I haven't knocked Quinn up in a couple of years, that's what I'll do tonight," she mocked, her voice low, gruff. "Is that it? Is that the reason?"

"What are you talking about?" he said loudly, talking over the top of her. "I used condoms this time, _you_ were the one who didn't want to use anything till you came to your senses, remember? I was the one who was prepared. And you were the one who was putting them on. Every time. 'I know what I'm doing'," he mimicked Quinn saying the last part. "So if you're knocked up again, don't look at me, pin it on someone else," he spat at her before turning back to his locker.

Every eye in the hallway was on them, every ear listening to their none too quiet argument.

"Interesting use of word there, Puckerman," Quinn said, nodding, lips pursed. "Where did you get them from, the condoms?" she asked. "Did you actually _check _them?" she demanded.

"I checked the date on them, the failure rate, what else is there to check?" he asked, still rearranging things in his locker, just so he wouldn't have to stand facing the crowd of students that Quinn was conveniently ignoring.

"So you didn't notice the pin holes in them?" she asked, calming down just a touch, finally noticing the audience. "I'm just asking because the two that you left in my drawer had pin holes in," she muttered, leaning nearer to Puck.

"They had _what_?" Puck asked, spinning back around to face Quinn.

"Pin holes," Quinn repeated. "Rendering them useless as a barrier method of birth control, hence…" she indicated the white stick on the floor with a wave of her hand.

Puck bent and picked up the stick, reading it as he straightened up. He looked at Quinn over it as he swallowed hard. "Fuck," he whispered, his mouth dry.

"Ooops, we did it again," Quinn tried to joke although she had never felt so far from laughing before in her entire life. "So where did you buy them, the stockist needs to check that none of the other packs have been tampered with," she said, her arms crossing over her chest, one hand stroking the other arm, comforting herself, the anger at Puck draining out of her. He was as much a victim of this sabotage as she was.

"I didn't buy them," Puck replied. "Finn gave them to me," he admitted quietly.

"_Finn_?" Quinn screeched. "Finn gave them to you? Why?" she demanded, getting angry all over again.

"Because he knew what you were up to when you asked me to have sex with you," Puck shouted. "And maybe he thought it was payback, I don't know," he said, his body sagging a little as the enormity of it hit him.

"Payback for what?" Quinn asked, incredulously.

"I don't know, maybe for being the one who got you pregnant before? For being the one you cheated on him with in sophomore year _and_ in junior year?" he shrugged.

"Finn never knew about junior year," Quinn insisted. "And anyway, _he_ broke up with _me_ both times," she reasoned.

"I only broke up with you because you couldn't stay away from my best friend," Finn's slightly bored voice broke into their argument as he stepped out from the crowd to stand behind Quinn. "And yes I did know about junior year, I followed you every time. Seems you always ran to Puck when you needed something more, didn't you?" he asked. "Perfect opportunity here for you Quinn, tie him down, trap him, it's what you've been planning for years," Finn's eyes rose from the back of Quinn's head to meet Puck's questioning stare before he dropped the bombshell. "And if I can't have him, I'd rather he was with you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership of Glee or the characters.**

**A/N: The aftermath of Quinn's revelation and Finn's proclamation and a little something from someone else, just to be spiteful. **

The silence in the hallway following the mass gasp of disbelief, was deafening. It seemed to go on and on and on. Little by little a few whispers could be heard, spreading like a bush fire. Puck looked around at the gathered crowd of students all watching the three of them.

"Dude, you seriously did not just come out with some really gay garbage," Puck laughed, not feeling comfortable enough to look Finn in the eye. "Did you?" he demanded, less sure of a negative answer.

Quinn, her chin on her chest, mouth wide open, spun slowly round to face Finn. How? Quinn wanted to ask. How is that possible? What about the mailman? She knew he'd thought about the mailman a lot when they were dating. Both times. More so the second time because she'd allowed quite a few more liberties than when they'd dated first off in sophomore year. Not that she'd gone all the way with Finn, she hadn't. Puck was the only person who had ever been allowed that privilege, but Finn had been given unlimited access to certain parts of her body and she'd always felt how hard he got so she knew she turned him on. No, he was obviously just trying to make a ridiculous joke to help them out, to deflect the interest that no doubt would be following them now that half the school knew she was pregnant again. No, it had to be a joke. A joke that had backfired big time. "What about when you needed to think about the mailman?" she asked, feeling Puck step up to her back, felt his hands grip her hips, pull her tighter in to him, like a shield. "You were _always_ thinking about the mailman," she insisted.

Finn nodded his head, looking down at the floor, he gave a little snort of laughter, just barely audible. "The mailman," he said to himself before he looked back at Quinn. "Yeah, the mailman. I did, you're right," he admitted, "I did need to think about the mailman a lot when I was dating you," he looked up towards Puck's scowling face. "That wasn't my 'buzzkill'," Finn said softly, leaning forward just a touch, his hands in his pockets, "just the opposite, the mailman was my buzz," he shrugged, picturing The Rock dressed as a mailman.

"I can't deal with this right now," Puck said, changing the subject. "There's other stuff, important stuff we have to discuss," he reminded Quinn. Puck grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him, heading towards the choir room.

"You don't think that's important?" Quinn asked, trailing behind Puck and looking back over her shoulder towards Finn. "Your best friend just told the whole school he wants to be with you and you're just going to what? Ignore it?" she tugged back a little making Puck turn to look at her. "Oh my God," Quinn breathed, her free hand covering her mouth, "you feel the same, don't you?" she asked, feeling ever so slightly sick.

"_What_?" Puck almost shrieked. "Not a fucking chance," he insisted. "Seriously? You have doubts about me? About my sexuality? You of all people?" he asked. For sure if there was one person on the planet who knew exactly how to turn Noah Puckerman on, it was Quinn Fabray. "I might have been in juvie for six weeks but fuck no, not even if I was locked up for six _years_," Puck insisted and he was so vehement that Quinn believed him. Thank God.

"So, we need to talk about this," Quinn said as Puck closed the choir room door after them. Puck turned round and saw that Quinn had the little white stick in her hand again. He couldn't remember either passing it to her or her taking it from him. "It's positive anyway," she reminded him, "do you want to get our moms together, tell them both at the same time?" she asked.

"Don't we need to make some decisions first?" Puck asked. "I mean, are you even going to carry on with it?" he really wasn't sure if he could ask the other questions.

"Yes, I told you the last time, I can't even contemplate termination, it's not an option," Quinn replied, a little shudder passing through her. "I'm keeping the baby," she told Puck, it wasn't a question, she wasn't asking his opinion, it was a fact. "You can be as involved as you want, or not as the case may be," Quinn added, wrapping her arms round herself again, feeling Puck pulling further and further away. This wasn't how she'd thought it was going to go. She'd thought Puck would jump at the chance to recreate their one perfect thing, be involved, be a dad.

"I can't do this again with you, Quinn," Puck sighed, sinking down to the piano stool, feeling the weight of the world settling on his shoulders. His mother was going to kill him. Her mother would finish off anything his mother missed. Just to be sure.

"What do you mean you can't _do this_?" Quinn screeched. "_This _is already happening Puck. _This _is already here," she yelled, her hands on her lower abdomen. "I don't have a choice about this," she shouted.

"Yes you do," Puck stood up and yelled back. "You _do_ have a choice. We don't have to do this, it's not a baby yet Quinn, it's just a bunch of cells..." he trailed off, seeing the look on Quinn's face.

"How dare you say that to me," Quinn demanded, her voice an icy whisper. "That's your answer? You want to kill your baby? Beth's brother or sister? That's your choice?" she asked, her voice getting higher and higher. "Well fuck you Puckerman, that's not my choice. I'll do this myself. Don't worry about it, it's not your problem anymore," she said, tears building, "but don't you ever, _ever_ dare say you weren't given a choice," she grated, spinning away from him, heading to the door, realising that the crowd of students who had heard her initial revelation had followed them and were listening outside the choir room. "Get the fuck out of my way," she screamed at the people outside the door, heading that way herself to get away from the choir room, away from Puck.

"Quinn, wait," Puck called before her hand touched the door handle. "We have to talk about this properly, I need to think and yeah, I think we should get both our moms together," he sighed, feeling totally drained. His head was absolutely mashed. What the fuck had happened to the world since he'd dragged himself out of bed this morning? His best friend had just opened a closet door and not just stepped out but jumped out head first twirling a pink parasol. And then Quinn. Fuck. When would he learn that Quinn was his Kryptonite? He'd just told her to kill their baby. What the fuck was he thinking? What if she'd done that before? He couldn't imagine a world that Beth didn't inhabit. Even though Shelby had only let him see Beth a couple of times in the last few weeks, she was still the light of his life. He was supposed to be going over to see her tonight. Puck watched Quinn leave the choir room, he had no idea if she'd spoken to him again, said anything, he'd catch up with her at her car after school. Puck pulled his phone out of his pocket and made a call. "Shelby, hi, it's me," he said as his call was answered. "I'm going to have to cancel tonight, something's come up," he listened for a few minutes. "Wow, good news really travels fast at McKinley," Puck said, his voice dead, flat. "Can we make it another night? Please? I really want to spend some time with Beth," he sighed, "I really need to," Puck's voice cracked just enough for Shelby to hear. "Thank you," he whispered as Shelby told him they could rearrange the visit for later in the week.

Puck sat back down on the piano stool. He made another call. "Mom?" he said as she answered. "Are you working later?" he asked. The response was negative. "Can you call Mrs Fabray? Ask her to come over tonight. With Quinn," he stopped talking as his mother immediately picked up the significance. Puck's elbows were on his knees, his head was propped up on one hand, he felt weary. Really, really weary.

"Oh Noah," Naomi Puckerman bit out. "Is this going where I think it's going?" she asked. "No, don't tell me. If I don't know I don't have to answer Judy if she asks me when I call her," she said, sighing, Puck could hear the distress in her voice. He knew that she knew she was right.

"Mom," Puck almost whispered, "I'm sorry," was all he could manage before he ended the call. Puck didn't dare look up to see if the coast was clear. He couldn't allow all those jerk offs to see the shimmer of tears that he knew was there in his eyes. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," he whispered to himself, smacking his phone on his head in time with every curse.

"Is it true?" Rachel made herself ask Finn once she found him hiding away in the library. "Just tell me," she begged. "Is it true?"

"That depends on what you're asking," Finn responded. "If you're asking do unicorns really poop cotton candy then you can be pretty sure it's not true," he attempted to joke.

"I heard about what you said to Noah," Rachel said, swallowing hard, trying her very best to blink back the tears. "Tell me it was a joke," she demanded.

"I can't tell you that," Finn replied, feeling the weight of hiding the truth about himself lifting. "I'm sorry Rachel," he said, giving her the half-smile that she knew so well, "you're just not my type. I've tried, really tried but it's no good, I can't hide it anymore. I'm in love with Noah Puckerman, I always have been. There, I've said it," he breathed with a sigh of relief. "I was never jealous of Puck being with Quinn. I was jealous of Quinn being with Puck. You've no idea what a relief it is to get that out in the open," he sighed, happily.

Puck was waiting at Quinn's car when she came out of school. Her footsteps faltered when she saw him. She visibly drew herself up, walked more purposefully towards her car. "Hey," Puck mumbled as she got close enough. "We still have to talk Quinn," he reminded her. "I called my mom, she's called your mom, you're both coming over to my house for dinner. Sarah's going to Nana's house for the night," he continued, giving as much information as he had received from his mom via text.

"There's nothing to discuss," Quinn said, ignoring the hurt in his voice. "I'm pregnant with your baby and you don't want anything to do with it," she said tonelessly, shrugging. "How will talking change that?" she asked, not even looking at him.

Puck took hold of Quinn's hand, preventing her from unlocking her car. "Please, Quinn," he begged, "you're wrong, there's a lot to talk about. With our moms," he said quietly. Neither of them were aware that they had an audience. From one side of the parking lot Finn watched them, his eyes on Puck. From the teachers parking lot, Shelby Corcoran watched them, her eyes on Puck.

Shelby felt the sinking feeling of lost opportunity. Why had she chased him away? She'd had the best afternoon of her adult life, rivaling any amount of applause that came her way when she stood on a Broadway stage, and she'd thrown it away. Lord that boy had moves that would make a pro blush. "My loss," Shelby thought tiredly, "my loss, her gain. And while I had the one thing she couldn't give him he would have been mine for as long as I wanted, but now she can give him that too. It'll never be Beth," she consoled herself, "but it'll have the same blood, same genes."

"God he looks so whipped," Finn thought to himself. "Destroyed. And it's my fault. I did this to them, I made this happen. I should never have interfered," he said, just below out loud. "But he was getting too close to Shelby. What if she'd gone back to New York? What if he'd gone with her. I couldn't let that happen," Finn looked round, a little embarrassed as he realised he was talking out loud to himself. "He should never have slept with Shelby, that was just wrong,"

Finn didn't know that someone was standing close enough to hear him talking. Someone who would have no scruples about using the information that Finn had just revealed. "Happy days are here again, la la la la la la la again, la la la la la la la la again, happy days are here again," that person trilled to themselves. Fucking shit useless Glee," the person grumbled, realising they were actually, ew, _singing_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: No ownership claimed or implied.**

**A/N: It's the turn of the parents to give their views. What will they decide to do? **

The second Puck stepped into the house his mom was on him. He stood, his backpack still slung over one shoulder and listened to all of her yelling, her tears, heard the disappointment in her voice. "Are you done now?" he asked, looking at her, no emotion in either his voice or his eyes.

"No," Naomi cried. "No, I'm not done. How could you _do_ this again, Noah? Didn't you learn anything the first time?" she asked, ending with a sob, her hand at her mouth.

"It wasn't intentional," Puck replied, getting more than a little angry. "We didn't mean for it to happen, we used protection, it just didn't…..it didn't…..urgh," he shouted, spinning away from his mom towards the stairs, his hands pulling at his mohawk in frustration.

"Quinn and Judy will be here in an hour," Naomi informed him, her voice a little calmer "we'll talk this out and make decisions. All of us, together," she said, turning back to the kitchen.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Puck muttered, already climbing the stairs. He already knew Quinn's decision. He didn't have one. He knew what he'd said to her before but he didn't know if he really meant it. Could he live with it if Quinn made that choice? Went along with his choice? Could he actually stand by and let her kill…."No. It isn't a baby yet," he reminded himself. "It's not anything yet, it's just a chunk of DNA that has a bit of me and a bit of Quinn…mixing together…joining together….part of us…oh God, it's our baby, she can't kill it. She can't," he thought, throwing himself face down on his bed, burying his face in his pillow.

Puck jerked awake at the knock on his bedroom door. "What?" he mumbled. It must have been loud enough because Quinn opened the door and came in to his room.

"Your mom sent me up to get you," she said, almost shyly, closing the door and leaning against it. "She said to tell you dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes and we should take this time to talk to each other," Quinn tried to smile but only succeeded in looking even sadder. "I really don't think we've got anything to talk about, do you? I mean, you said everything earlier. My decision hasn't changed, I can't do what you want me to do, I'm sorry," she finished with a sniff.

Puck turned on his side and held an arm up in invitation. "C'mere," he murmured. Quinn pushed away from the door and walked slowly towards his bed. "Lie with me, let me hold you," Puck said softly, watching the changing emotions flit across her face as she lay down next to him. "We'll face this together," he promised. "I know what I said before," he whispered into her ear, tucking her close up against him. "And I was….crazy, I don't know. I know you can't do that and I don't think I could let you either," he admitted. "We'll just have to take this one day at a time and just do the best we can," he said lamely, squeezing his eyes shut tight, swallowing hard to stop the surge of emotion, despair from bubbling up and overpowering him. He was thankful that Quinn's head was tucked under his chin, that she couldn't see his face because he was sure that even if his voice didn't give him away, his face certainly would have. Quinn's body shook as she silently cried into him. Puck lifted her chin, his finger crooked underneath it. "Hey," he said softly, "we'll be fine, alright? We've done this before, we can do it again, ok?" he encouraged. "We've faced the stares and the whispers, at school and the doctor's office, we're strong enough," he reminded her.

"Are we 'we'?" Quinn asked, her voice more than a little croaky. "I need to know if this is 'my' baby or 'our' baby," she said, her eyes locked with Puck's.

Puck nodded, understanding what she needed. "Let's go eat and talk to them," he motioned towards the door. "Might want to wash your face first," he said with a little smile, "I'd hate your mom to think you've been up here crying. She might blame me for that as well," he said, his smile getting just a touch bigger as Quinn smiled a little too.

"Oh God Judy, I never thought they'd do this again," Naomi whispered, handing Judy a glass of wine. "What the hell were they thinking?" she asked.

"God only knows," Judy replied, taking the glass. "Thank you. I've talked and talked with Quinn ever since….well since…..before," she eventually managed to say, "and she agreed with me, she wouldn't even take the risk again until she finishes college, meets someone sui…...meets someone that she wants to spend her life with," she finished, hoping Naomi hadn't caught her slip. Naomi had.

"Someone _suitable_, you mean?" Naomi turned away from the stove to ask Judy, her face set, eyebrows almost in her hair. "So my Noah isn't suitable? Is that right? Not good enough for your daughter? Is that what you mean?" she demanded, instantly becoming the defensive, over protective Jewish mama. "Quinn obviously thought he was good enough. _Twice_," she reminded Judy. "Perhaps it's that Quinn can't….." she stopped, suddenly aware of the two young people at the door.

"Can't what, mom?" Puck asked. "Quinn can't what?" he asked again, taking Quinn's hand in his own. "Maybe we should sit down and talk about this without resorting to insults, eh?" he asked. "And Mrs Fabray, I don't care how much Quinn promised you she would wait till she found someone suitable, she was never going to stay away from me," he informed Judy who blushed just a little and drank her wine.

"Look, you both know we have been….active together for years," Quinn said as she took her seat. "For me there's only been Noah, for him there's been a lot more but whatever," she waved a hand, dismissing that topic, "that's in the past. We haven't been in a relationship for months, this was a one off, when you were off on your wine tasting thing," Quinn told her mom.

"So when was that, exactly?" Naomi asked, remembering recently that Puck had gone camping for the weekend with Finn, about four or five weeks ago, vaguely remembering Judy telling her something about a wine cruise at roughly the same time.

"Four weeks ago," Puck admitted. "We spent the weekend together, it was a spur of the moment thing but I can promise we did use protection," he told their parents. "We didn't intend this to happen."

"Unfortunately the protection had been tampered with," Quinn explained, looking to Puck to see how far he wanted to explain. Puck took her hand on the table and gave it a little squeeze and an almost imperceptible shake of his head, they couldn't tell Finn's secret. Not yet.

"This is the result," Puck shrugged. "Now we have to make decisions. We don't want to make them alone, we'd like for both of you to be involved but ultimately it's our choice. You get to state your opinion, we'll listen then I don't know," he said, looking round at the three women at the table.

Judy and Naomi looked at each other then back at their children. "Ok," Judy nodded. "I know my first instinct when I found out this afternoon was for you to get rid of it, despite that being against my religion and every belief I've ever held," she admitted. "I just don't think you can go through the same as last time," she said, mainly to Quinn but including Puck, "I don't think you're strong enough for that. I know I'm not," she said sadly.

"And I hold my hand up," Naomi said, raising her hand, "it was my first instinct too. I think you're both too young to be tied down with this. And I agree with Judy," she said, nodding at Judy, "I don't think any of us is strong enough to deal with adoption again. It just about killed Noah the last time. He might not show it but he does have feelings, he just likes to hide them," she smiled a little at Puck, reaching out to cover his hand with her own. "Didn't you ever wonder what he did to get locked up?" she asked. "Did you ever tell her?" Naomi asked her son. Puck shook his head. "I think you should tell Quinn exactly what happened to you, what it made you do. I really don't think adoption is something to even consider," she said quietly.

"What did you do?" Quinn asked, "I know we've never talked about it, you refused to talk about it and I never believed Ms Sylvester's story about the ATM, so what was it?" she asked.

"I broke into the lawyer's office to find out where Beth was, find the details of the adoption," he admitted. "You know I never wanted that to happen, I never kept that a secret and I agree with both of you," Puck turned to Naomi and Judy, "I couldn't go through another adoption," he turned to look at Quinn. "And I know what I said earlier, it's the same as both of our moms have said. My first reaction was for you to have a termination but I really don't think either of us could go through with that either. So it seems like there's just the one option left, the one that you said from the start. It looks like we're having a baby," he said quietly, his eyes firmly on Quinn, watching the relief dawn in her eyes.

"So we're doing this together?" Quinn asked. Puck nodded, taking her hand once more.

"Together," he repeated, leaning over to hug Quinn, pull her close.

"Does that mean you'll be in a relationship together?" Judy asked.

"No," Puck and Quinn replied, looking at each other. Quinn took over. "It means that we'll go through this together and then work out shared custody and stuff later."

Conversation over dinner was subdued, there wasn't really anything left to say. Quinn and Judy left shortly afterwards. Puck knew he wasn't out of the woods with his mom. "Does Quinn know how much time you spend with Beth?" she asked.

Puck shook his head. "She has no idea, Shelby won't let Quinn have any visitation since she went all crazy and tried to set Shelby up as a bad mom," he admitted. "And that weekend?" he added, waiting for his mom to nod. "Quinn had worked her cycle out, found when she was most fertile then asked me to come over," he said.

"I thought you said this was an accident?" Naomi asked, confused.

"It was," Puck nodded. "She came to her senses before anything actually happened," he shrugged, "I thought I'd taken care of it, we used condoms, but they failed, obviously," he said with a sigh, picking up his glass again to finish his beer.

"Wasn't that round the same time as Beth hurt her lip?" Naomi asked. "I thought you were at the hospital with Beth and Shelby," she said, getting a little confused with the timing of events.

"Yeah, it was the same day," Puck admitted, looking at the table. He drew in a deep breath then looked at his mom. He might as well tell her everything. "I went home with them and once Beth was asleep, I slept with Shelby. She regretted it straight away and kicked me out, Quinn had already asked me a few days before if I'd go stay with her on the Friday night. She offered herself to me on a plate if I wanted her. Obviously she had her own agenda for that night but she changed her mind, realised how stupid it was, but it happened anyway. Karma's a bitch," he said with a faint laugh.

"Is that why you haven't been to visit so often?" Naomi asked, taking Puck back to the Shelby thing. "Why you haven't brought Beth here to visit us in the last few weeks?" she added. Puck nodded. Naomi missed seeing the beautiful little girl that was her granddaughter but wasn't. She had such a look of Quinn about her but with hints of Noah.

"I think I'm just going to go upstairs," Puck told his mom after they'd finished cleaning the kitchen. "I feel so tired, drained, it's been a shit of a day," he said, on his way to the stairs. Naomi watched her son walk away and wondered what else would come their way, what else would they have to cope with. She remembered her own mother telling her once, when she'd done something really stupid that caused her mother to lose her temper, her mother told her then, as bad as you are, Naomi, your kids will be twice as bad. Naomi wasn't sure about her kids being bad, but they sure as hell caused her twice the worry she'd ever brought to her own mother's door. At least twice the worry. Possibly ten times more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: The ownership of Glee and the characters is not mine, nor have I ever claimed it to be.**

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and comments.**

Next day at school, Puck felt every eye on him as he walked down the hallway towards his locker. From the outside he looked his usual confident, cocky, Puckasaurus self. On the inside, he was quaking. He glanced to his left and saw Quinn coming towards him down the other hallway, he slowed a little for their paths to intersect. "Hey," he said as she joined him. "How are you feeling this morning?" he asked.

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I'm good," she told him. "No morning sickness or anything yet, it's all good," she glanced up into his eyes, saw the concern there. "Puck," she said his name with a little breathy laugh, "I'm fine. My mom's stopped blaming you for every sin since creation and she accepts that we're going to do this together," she smiled. "There is one thing though," she admitted shyly, stretching up on tiptoe to speak quietly to him, her hand on his chest. "I'm feeling super horny," she whispered, then waited for Puck's response, looking up through her lashes, her bottom lip between her teeth.

Puck swallowed hard as he looked her in the eye. Crap. She had to go and say that. She'd been the same last time. Not as early as this but wow, once those hormones had kicked in, she'd been insatiable. "Be strong, Puck," he said to himself, as his body reacted just slightly to her words. "Be cool, you don't need to do this with her," he reminded himself. "But if you don't, will she go looking for some other dude to ease the ache?"

Quinn waited for Puck to give some indication that he was interested in meeting her, maybe in the janitor's closet or the rarely used bathroom behind the auditorium or one of their other secret meeting places. Nothing. Puck's attention was caught by a movement behind Quinn. "Hey Shelby," he nodded to the woman walking towards them. "How's Beth this morning?" he asked, anxious to hear about the little girl, desperate to hear the woman's voice. "A fucking crush," Puck thought to himself, "it's just a crush, people get them all the time. Well, other people do or so I've heard. Chill out Puck, keep it cool, you know there's no future in it, it's just a crush. Be cool."

"Beth's fine," Shelby replied with a smile, watching Puck look at her, seeing Quinn's hackles rise, knowing that a very familiar scowl would be on her face even though she hadn't turned round. "Congratulations to you both, I heard your news," Shelby said, sounding sincere. "If you decide you want to give the baby up I'd be happy to take it, Beth would love a companion, a baby brother or sister," she told them.

Quinn couldn't contain herself. She spun round, her eyes flashing fire, anger radiating from her. "You have my daughter, you've _had_ her father, there's no way you're getting your hands on her brother or sister," Quinn vowed. "For the record, I know about the two of you and just so you know, the only reason I haven't gone to the authorities with this is because Beth would be the one to suffer," Quinn looked over her shoulder at Puck. "But if it ever happens again, CPS will be the first to hear about it, Principle Figgins will be the second, I can promise you that," she snapped before she walked away leaving Shelby and Puck staring after her.

"I'm sorry," Shelby said quietly, "I shouldn't have said that to Quinn. I don't know what came over me, a touch of the green eyed monster maybe," she admitted, feeling foolish.

"I don't think it was the best thing to have said," Puck agreed, barely able to hide the elation he felt that Shelby was jealous of Quinn. "I want you to know, me and Quinn, we're not together, we haven't been for months, but we're going to get through this pregnancy together, share custody, we aren't going to be a couple," he explained, "but we aren't going to give the baby up either."

"And I think you should know, I've been seeing someone," Shelby told Puck quietly. "Beth seems to really like him, its early days, but..." she shrugged, smiling.

Puck frowned. He wasn't sure he liked the thought of some random guy entering Beth's life. "What will that mean for me spending time with Beth?" he asked.

"We'll play it by ear," Shelby advised, giving Puck a tight smile, resisting the urge to stroke her hand down his chest, before leaving him standing in the hallway and heading to her own classroom.

In his third class of the day, Puck felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He covertly checked it out under the desk. "Fuck," he thought. "Does everyone know about it?" he wondered. He quickly composed a message to Shelby. *Secret's out*, he glanced towards his teacher before he sent the message. His phone vibrated again. Shelby wanted to know how. *Not a clue* he replied.

Quinn heard the whispers following her as she walked to Glee. She could feel the tension building in her, she was just about ready to blow. "Hey," Finn said, appearing at her side. "How's things?" he asked, just by way of conversation.

Quinn looked up at the tall figure at her side. "How's things?" she repeated through gritted teeth. "How's fucking things?" she said again. Quinn stopped outside the choir room. "Yesterday I found out that my ex-boyfriend is gay, he's also in love with the father of my child, sorry, _children_, thanks to said ex being an utter fucking moron and sticking condoms full of holes," she said, her voice rising in volume. She took a breath. "How the fuck do you think I am?" she demanded, her fists on her hips, glaring at Finn.

"Errm," was all that Finn could think of to say, he couldn't really argue with that. Finn continued looking round, not daring to meet Quinn's stare. He caught sight of Puck coming towards them. He saw the slight falter of Puck's step, letting Finn know that Puck was really wary of joining them.

Puck adjusted his backpack that was as usual, slung over just one shoulder and strode on towards Quinn and Finn. He didn't want to meet Finn's gaze, he still wasn't ready for that conversation yet. As he reached them, he automatically took Quinn's hand, taking her with him as he stepped into the choir room. "How's your day been?" he asked as they walked towards their seats. "Mine's been a steaming pile of crap in case you're interested," he offered.

"Mine must have been the dump next to yours then," Quinn replied brightly.

"Oh goody," Puck grinned, his smile totally false, "yay us," he said, clapping. His smile dropped the second he sat down. "How have you really been?" he asked, genuinely wanting to know how Quinn was feeling.

"I still want to jump your bones," Quinn confided quietly from behind her hand, "if that's what you're asking."

"And if I don't take you up on it?" Puck asked, needing to be sure. He didn't really like the idea of her going with some other guy, not with his baby inside her. Was that how she felt when she knew he was with another girl, another woman, Shelby? Crap. It really felt like a kick in the balls.

Quinn shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "Hey, you can't control the urge, you know?" she said as Mr Schue walked into the room with Rachel trailing sadly after him.

"So where do you want to go?" Puck asked. He didn't even know why he'd ignored what she'd said this morning, he knew it was inevitable. They'd never been able to stay away from each other. A month ago had proved that. They'd barely spoken since Quinn had accused Puck of betraying her, of not helping her to get Beth back, but it was still always there, that attraction, that cosmic magnet drawing them towards each other till they collided sending sparks flying.

Quinn felt the flutter of excitement in the pit of her stomach, couldn't quite stop the hint of a smile touching her lips. "My house," she replied, not looking at Puck, "follow me home after school," she instructed.

Judy noted Puck's truck when she got home from work. "Good," she thought to herself, "I hope they're talking, sorting things out."

"Shit," Puck whispered, "was that the door?" he asked, his breathing just about normal. They both listened intently, Puck's head raised slightly from the pillow. Quinn, from her position astride him, looked down at him, her nose almost touching his. At the same time they both turned and looked at the door as if that held the answers, they didn't hear another sound.

"No," Quinn murmured back, "my mom won't be home for another hour yet," she told Puck confidently. Quinn's lips found the pulse in Puck's throat, she rocked again, feeling Puck harden again inside her. She pushed up, her hands on his chest, rocking, her hips setting a hot rhythm.

Puck groaned, he didn't think he'd be able to recover this soon but Quinn had always held some sort of power over him. They'd already shattered together once and here he was, just minutes later ready to go again. His hands sought her hips, tried to slow her down a little, make it last just a bit longer. Puck thrust up as Quinn rocked, both of their movements combining, increasing in speed and depth. Puck sat himself up, his lips seeking, attaching to and pulling on Quinn's sensitive nipple. He pushed further up, the momentum pushing Quinn on to her back, her legs wrapping around his waist, drawing him in tight. He pushed up on outstretched arms and slammed into her again and again. Puck knelt up, grasping Quinn's hips, lifting her. Every time they connected she gasped, her breathy sounds coming louder and louder. They didn't hear the bedroom door open. Or close. Or Judy's footsteps tiptoeing away from her daughter's bedroom, absolutely traumatised at the scene she'd just caught sight of.

"Naomi, hi, it's Judy," Judy whispered into the phone.

"Hi Judy," Naomi replied. "How are you?" she asked.

"Traumatised, I think," Judy replied. "I've just got home from work, Noah's truck is here so I thought he and Quinn might be talking," she confided with a shocked little laugh. "It's not talking that I just saw them doing," Judy revealed. "So much for not being in a relationship together. At least I hope they are. I hope they aren't just, oh God, what a disgusting phrase," Judy groaned as quietly as she could then whispered, "fuck buddies."

"You're shocked at that?" Naomi asked. "After all this time? You know what they've always been like. I mean, we suspected this all along, didn't we?" she asked. "Should we encourage them to be more than that?" Naomi mused, thinking aloud. "There just seems to be something inevitable about them. I'd hate for Quinn to be a single mother and I know how much it's affected Noah and Sarah growing up without their father. I don't know, perhaps we should be more encouraging, help them find their way to being a family," she finished.

"Do you think you and Sarah might like to come over for dinner tonight? Maybe help them to thrash some stuff out?" Judy asked.

"Thank you, that would be nice Judy, what time do you want us?" Naomi answered.

"Give me an hour, I'll let them know in a while that I'm home and that you're coming over," Judy said with a smile, glancing up towards the ceiling. "See you soon," she said before she hung up.

Judy went into the kitchen and started dinner, she tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to alert Quinn and Puck to the fact that she was home until she was ready to speak to them. She was still very embarrassed.

"Do you smell that?" Quinn asked, her hand slowly stroking Puck's chest, dipping lower and lower with every few strokes. They were laid together, Quinn hugged up at his side, both of them feeling very mellow, lethargic.

"Smell what?" Puck asked, his fingers trailing up and down Quinn's arm, the weight of her head on his shoulder.

"I guess my mom's home," Quinn sighed, "she's cooking something, can't you smell that?" she asked again, her nose wrinkling up, stopping just short of gagging.

Puck shook his head. He remembered from reading the books before that Quinn's nose was probably a little more sensitive than normal, she'd probably be able to pick up the hint of garlic from a quarter of a mile away right now. "I suppose we better get dressed, what time is it?" he asked, not really caring, not really wanting to move right now.

"Damn, it's after six," Quinn replied, catching sight of her clock. "I didn't think we'd been here that long," she said, scooting to the edge of the bed and getting up. Puck watched Quinn walk naked round the room with not a hint of shame or embarrassment, totally comfortable in her own skin. The difference a couple of years makes. He remembered the very first time they'd been together, Quinn wouldn't even remove her top that time, he'd barely been able to convince her to take off her panties. It was quite some time after that, that Quinn had actually allowed him to see her boobs. Puck felt his body stir just a little at the memory of it. They both turned at a knock at the door.

"Quinn, Noah," Judy called through the wood. "Dinner is almost ready, Noah your mother and your sister are here too," she informed them.

Quinn and Puck looked at each other, eyes wide. "How long has she been home?" Puck whispered. "I told you I heard something ages ago," he insisted.

"Guess she already knows we're in here," Quinn said with a shrug. She didn't care. She knew what it was she really wanted and the mood she was in she was going to go all out to get it. Unfortunately, she knew what Puck wanted didn't quite gel with her plans for the future. Quinn wondered if she'd ever be able to admit to Finn that he'd done her a massive favour with the condoms. No, probably not. She still couldn't imagine ever being able to forgive him for humiliating her yesterday with his sudden urge to confess to the world that he was in love with the guy that she had never quite been able to fall out of love with.

"Quinn? Noah? Did you hear me?" Judy asked as she knocked again.

"Yes mom, we heard you, we'll be down in a minute," Quinn called back as Puck got up to pick up his clothes.

Sarah grinned at her brother as he came down the stairs with Quinn. "Have you been doing your homework Noah?" she asked innocently. Sarah glanced at both hers and Quinn's moms. "I bet they've been kissing," she said with a huge smile, "I _always_ catch them kissing when they're in Noah's bedroom. Sometimes they don't have their clothes on either," she confided, folding her arms, nodding knowledgeably.

"That's enough Sarah," Naomi told her daughter, seeing the burning colour fill Quinn's cheeks, seeing her son look at his sister with murderous eyes.

"What are you two doing here?" Puck asked, thinking he might deflect the conversation away from him and Quinn. He was still confused, he could do without questions today.

"I invited them, Noah," Judy replied, "when I came home and found you two together," she revealed delicately. Puck and Quinn both sagged and glanced at each other. No need to brazen it out, deny anything, they were already caught. "We both feel," she indicated between herself and Naomi, "that there should be a few changes to your living arrangements," she said with a glance at Naomi. They'd talked about this while Sarah had lost herself in the latest edition of her favourite pre-teen magazine. "Given the circumstances we both feel that you should move in here with us Noah, to be on hand to support Quinn every step of the way," she said, not meeting either of their eyes, busying herself with serving the meal.

Puck swallowed hard. Shit, trapped. He thought on his feet. "What about Sarah?" he asked. "What about when you're at work?" he asked his mom.

"Your Nana is going to come and live with me and Sarah," Naomi told Puck. "She needs the support from me as much as she can help with Sarah and around the house," she told her son, presenting him with a solution to the problem and basically telling him his room was going to be filled. No 'run home to mommy' clause available there.

"Don't we get any say in this?" Puck asked, looking to Quinn for her to argue against it too. She stayed silent.

"Of course," Naomi replied. "But think about your own childhood Noah," she reminded him. "Do you want to put your own child through that?" she asked.

"Don't you think forcing us together will bring that on us down the line?" Puck retaliated. Quinn stayed silent.

"I think you should be man enough to take care of the _mother_ of your child as well as your child," Naomi said, taking her seat at the table. "It doesn't mean you have to share a bed, Judy has guest rooms," she shrugged, finding it amusing that her son wouldn't even think of that option. She and Judy wanted them living in the same house, sharing every aspect of this together, it was going to be up to them how they dealt with the sleeping arrangements.

Puck leaned back in his seat, looking around at them all. What was it that he actually wanted? Did he really want to be a weekend dad? Picking his kid up on a Friday and dropping it off on a Sunday? Did he want to be the other guy in his kid's life when Quinn met someone in the future? Someone she wanted to marry? Would she want to change their kid's name? God it wasn't even here yet, they hadn't even been to see the doctor yet and he'd already seen himself cut out of his kid's birthday parties, school plays, sports games, life.

"Do we get time to think about this?" he asked, "at least discuss it with each other?" he suggested.

"Oh yes," Judy and Naomi agreed together. "We're not saying that you have to do this right away," Judy added. "We think perhaps by Sectionals you should have had enough time to work things out."

"So we have a couple of weeks to make the decision, right?" Puck asked, he really needed things spelling out for him, he needed to know what the hell was going on. Were they trying to use reverse psychology on them? Trying to overdose them on each other so that in the end there wouldn't be any Quick? And where would that leave him with Beth and Shelby? Should he admit to Quinn that he was still seeing Beth? Or would that be the straw that broke the camel's back?

Puck couldn't remember actually tasting what they ate for dinner. As soon as it was over he and Quinn excused themselves to go back to her room. "To _talk_," Puck insisted. "God, we _can_ be alone together and not get naked you know," he said with disgust.

"Not very often," Quinn murmured, her head down to hide the joy in her eyes. Puck heard her and glared.

Quinn closed the door behind her, Puck slumped back on her ruffled up bed. "Do you get the feeling that they're forcing this to make us realise we don't actually want to be together?" she asked.

"But we already told them that," Puck grumbled. "They agreed with us, we'll be friends, we'll co-parent, but we don't need to be together," he said, his hands scrubbing his face, feeling the frustration of not being heard.

"And yet when she came home my mother caught us having sex. Again. Despite us constantly telling them that we aren't in a relationship," Quinn explained. "Maybe they're a bit confused about what we think a relationship is," she shrugged. "And maybe I am too," she sighed, leaving the door to sit beside Puck. "I think I want to be able to turn to you in the middle of the night when I'm feeling like crap, craving something weird or just feeling horny. Does that mean I want to be in a relationship?" she asked. "Maybe it does. I know I don't want to go through this alone, I know I don't want to be a single parent. I know we can't go into this half-assed. If you're not prepared to be here for me, for this," her hand rubbed her tummy, "then I don't want you to be here at all," she admitted. "I'm not going to hold it over you that I will meet another guy in the future, that won't alter the fact that you're this baby's father," she told him, frowning, losing her train of thought. What about when Puck found another girl, made a commitment to another woman, had a child with another woman? How would she feel then? "Left out," a voice inside her head answered her silent question.

"So what do we do?" Puck asked, sitting up again. "Do we tell them to get fucked, we'll do it our way or do we give in?" he sighed.

"I think," Quinn said with a smile and a raised eyebrow, "that we take this opportunity to enjoy each other in both of our houses, be totally uninhibited, embarrass the hell out of our mothers, then decide later," she turned to seat herself on his lap, facing him. Puck's hands had found her ass seemingly of their own accord. Quinn's hands stroked over his shoulders as she rocked herself against him just a little, mischief in her eyes, "what do you say?" she asked.

Puck looked deep into her eyes, watched the naughty little imp growing there. "Do you think you can keep me turned on and satisfied, Fabray?" he asked. Quinn sucked in a breath as she felt him harden under her, used that hardness to stimulate herself. She groaned just lightly her eyes closed, her lip between her teeth, gripped tightly. She nodded, still groaning. "In that case," Puck whispered against her throat, "I say, go for it," he finished just before he sucked a little shape onto her tender skin.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: Finn tells all.**

**Many thanks for the messages and comments for this fiction. They are very much appreciated.**

"He's upstairs," Naomi told Finn when she answered the door to him on Friday evening, "go on up," she said with a smile.

Finn gave a nervous half smile back. He was fairly certain that Puck wouldn't particularly want him in his bedroom after the way he'd blurted out the truth on Monday at school. "Thanks Mrs P," he offered, gathering up his courage and going up anyway. At Puck's door Finn knocked and waited.

"S'up?" Puck called, wondering why his mom hadn't just come in after knocking like she usually did. He sighed heavily and got up off his bed to open the door, trailing his guitar after him. "Oh. Finn," Puck sounded surprised when he saw who was standing there.

"Can I come in?" Finn asked, feeling even more uncomfortable.

Puck hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Sure," he replied, stepping back. "What's up?" he asked again.

"I think we need to talk," Finn explained to Puck. "Or at least I need to talk, you need to listen," he said.

Puck nodded a little warily, not completely sure he wanted to hear this right now. He went and sat back on his bed, cross legged in the middle of it. He shuffled the papers he'd been writing on, composing on, and got comfortable with his guitar, hands in position but not actually playing anything. "Go ahead," he encouraged Finn, nodding towards the computer chair at the desk.

Finn took the hint and sat down, turning the chair to face Puck's bed. He didn't speak at all for a few minutes. "Dude," Puck said, "for someone needing to talk, you're not saying a whole hell of a lot," he told Finn, "get on with it, spit it out," he encouraged again.

"Yeah, ok," Finn nodded, still more than a little nervous. "Ok," he repeated. "Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning," he said. "Here goes. I think I realised just about the time I was dating Quinn the first time that it didn't feel right," he shrugged, looking down at the floor. "I was following what was expected of me, not what felt right," Finn sighed. "I'm making a mess of this, I don't really know how to explain. I was always a bit envious of Kurt, of him being out there, not ashamed of himself, his feelings. I just knew I wasn't ready to be like that. I dated Quinn because I hoped it would make me feel 'normal'," he looked up to meet Puck's frowning stare, "and because I knew that she was always the one you looked at first, no matter which girl you were actually dating or just fooling around with. Quinn was always the first person you looked for in any crowd," he shrugged again and laughed, more than a little embarrassed to reveal the next bit. "And if I was with Quinn, I could pretend to myself that it was me you couldn't help but look at, not her," Finn heard Puck's slight indrawn breath but continued. "When I joined Glee and Quinn called me on it, saying people would think I was gay because of it, it freaked me out. Scared the hell out of me to be honest, I thought she'd found me out. She hadn't, she was just worried about her reputation," he looked up and found Puck staring at him, "shallow as ever," he mocked Quinn's motives. Puck's expression hardened a little. Finn swallowed and got back to revealing things about himself. "I think I chose Rachel because I was never going to or at least I thought I'd never have to have sex with her. I thought she'd hold me off for forever, I could make the odd fumble, push for it a little but she was never going to let me get that far," he gave a little laugh, "and that worked for a long time, she is a bit self obsessed," he admitted, "I didn't need to use the mailman too often with her," Finn attempted a grin, seeing the glimmer of an answering grin on Puck's face.

"Anyway," Finn continued, "one of the reasons I was so pissed when I found out it was you who'd got Quinn pregnant was because it was like the end of my fantasy. I know that doesn't make much sense," he sighed, looking up towards the ceiling, "but it was like undeniable proof that it was Quinn you were looking at, not me," Finn's sigh this time was even deeper.

"All that aside," Puck said after waiting a moment for Finn to resume his life story, "what made you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?" Finn replied, "the condom thing?" he asked. Puck nodded. "God, this is the….look, I'm sorry about that, I mean, I know an apology is just words and they aren't worth a damn, but the only reason I did that, I think anyway, is because you were getting too close to Ms Corcoran," he admitted. "I could see you pulling away from everyone, from Quinn more than anyone. I mean, I know things with Lauren were just a front to cover up you and Quinn, like, almost all of last year you two were an item and you didn't really hide it very well," Finn told Puck with a grin. "From the others maybe, but I could always tell. And even though I haven't worked out all of the code, I knew you used signals to get together," he saw Puck's slight shake of his head and even smaller smirk, could imagine him thinking 'busted'. "But anyway, I thought you might leave, follow Ms Corcoran to New York if she decided to go back. As much as you try to convince yourself you're in love with her, have a thing for her, tell me honestly, if she didn't have Beth would you even look at her twice? If she stood next to Quinn, no Beth involved, who would you want to be with more than anything?" he asked.

Puck hadn't actually asked himself that, not phrased it to himself that way. He didn't even have to think about it. Without Beth involved, there would be no question. He would always seek out Quinn first. She would always be the first one in any line up of girls, women, that he would look for first. She always had been, that would never change. "So should I be thanking you for giving me and Quinn another chance?" Puck asked, his question just edging on sarcastic. "I mean, we haven't been able to work stuff out for ourselves over the last couple of years, what made you think you could make a better job of it?" he asked. "And just to make things even more difficult, let's see if we can add another human being in to the mix," Puck said, shaking his head. "You have no idea what this is doing to Quinn, I mean, you don't know how much of her it destroyed, giving Beth up, giving her to another woman to raise. What if she had to go through the same thing again? What if she didn't have the support from her mom, my mom, me? Why would you do that to her? Quinn's never done anything to you, certainly nothing that would affect your life for forever. An innocent child Finn. It's not something to screw around with," Puck's voice was getting louder, angry.

"I'm sorry," Finn said again, "I just didn't think that far ahead, I just thought…." he broke off, seeing how useless it was to try to explain this to Puck. He needed Quinn here too. Needed to explain to both of them. "Could you call Quinn? Ask her to come over? I think she should hear this too," Finn said, his voice weary.

Puck didn't answer. He picked up his phone and pressed the speed dial without taking his eyes off Finn. "Hey," he said when Quinn answered. "How're you feeling today?" he asked. "Besides that," he added with a grin, obviously Quinn had said something to amuse him. "Feel up to coming over? Finn's here, he wants to talk to both of us," Puck listened again. "Ok, we'll come over to you. See you soon, bye," he said then ended the call. "She's feeling like crap so we're going over there," he told Finn.

Puck spoke to his mom when they got downstairs. "We're going over to see Quinn, she's not feeling so good tonight. Don't know if I'll be back tonight, don't wait up," he told her, giving his mom a kiss on the cheek.

"Drive careful, Noah," Naomi called as she usually did.

"Finn's driving," Puck replied from the front door, "if I come home later I'll walk, bye mom," he called then shut the door after him.

"Your mom's cool with you just going and staying with Quinn like that?" Finn asked. "Don't you need stuff if you're staying the night? Clean clothes? Toothbrush? Stuff?" he asked.

"I have all that already there, and yes, she's cool with me staying with Quinn, same as she's cool with Quinn staying with me," Puck replied. "Quinn has more stuff in my closet than I do, don't even get me started on the bathroom cabinet," he said with a roll of his eyes.

The drive to Dudley Road didn't take long. Finn stopped his car on the street. Puck got out and walked up to the front door, Finn following close behind. Finn reached out and was about to ring the bell. "Dude," Puck said, smacking his hand down, "what are you doing?" he asked, taking out his own keys and unlocking the door. "Hey, it's me," he called.

"Hi Noah," Judy called back, her voice coming from the lounge. "Quinn's upstairs," she informed him.

Puck walked in the direction of the lounge, motioning with his head for Finn to follow him. "Finn's here too, he wants to talk to both of us, me and Quinn," he explained.

"Do you want me to bring up some drinks and snacks?" Judy asked, smiling politely at Finn then more warmly at Puck.

"I'll come down for some if we want them," Puck answered.

"Are you staying over tonight, Noah?" Judy asked, picking her embroidery up again, studying the pattern of stitches.

"Not sure yet," Puck replied, "it depends on Quinn. If I don't I'll lock up on my way out," he assured Judy.

As Finn followed Puck up the stairs heading for Quinn's bedroom he couldn't help but wonder at how comfortable Puck seemed in both this house and his own, with Quinn's mother and his own. It was like he was already a big part of this family. He knew, he'd seen before how Naomi was with Quinn, how Sarah was with Quinn. She fitted just as easily into Puck's family. Even Puck's Nana loved her.

"Hey babe," Puck said as he gently sat down beside Quinn. She was laid on her bed, her face ashen with just a tinge of green. Puck leaned over to drop a kiss on her forehead. He propped himself up on one hand at Quinn's other side and stroked the hair from her face. "You look like crap," he said with a grin.

"Thanks," Quinn replied in a husky voice. "Just what every girl wants to hear."

"Hi Quinn," Finn said quietly from the doorway. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Quinn looked up into Puck's eyes, saw him give a tiny wink of encouragement. "Sure," she replied then tried to sit a little further up. The motion did not go down well. "Crap," she muttered, her hand over her mouth as she pushed Puck's arm aside, jumped up and made a sprint for the bathroom.

Puck sighed and stood up, taking his jacket off and dropping it on the bed as he followed Quinn. He could hear the unmistakeable sounds of her retching. Puck opened the door without knocking and went inside closing it behind him. Finn stood alone just inside the bedroom doorway.

Puck held Quinn's hair back from her face. It was more difficult than it had been before, her hair was much shorter, but he managed. Puck rubbed her back soothingly, comfortingly, murmuring soft words to her. When he was sure she'd done throwing up he got a washcloth and wiped her sweat dampened face. He even handed her a toothbrush with her favourite flavour toothpaste on, not the one she used every day to clean her teeth, the one she kept for times like this, for when she was sick.

"Thank you," Quinn managed to say, her voice even huskier than before. "That's been the last three nights now, like clockwork," she told him. "Mornings I'm fine, not a hint of it. Gets to seven at night and blah, puking for Lima," she grumbled, pulling a face. She took Puck's hand to pull herself up from the floor, handing him her toothbrush back and taking the glass of water from him. "Thanks," she said again. "I'm glad you're here," she said quietly, "I wish Finn wasn't," she added, "another hour or so and I'll be feeling much, much better," she told Puck. "Remember how I was before?" she asked. Puck couldn't help the slow smile that appeared on his face. "Yeah," Quinn nodded, "times that by two. At least," she sighed. "Please tell me you're staying tonight?" she asked, feeling the need to be held if nothing else.

"Only if you want me to," Puck replied, putting his arms round Quinn and hugging her close. "I'd like to stay," he admitted. Even if they did nothing but sleep in each other's arms all night, he really, really wanted to be here tonight and to wake up with her in the morning.

"I want you to," Quinn replied, hugging him back. She pulled away slightly. "Let's get this over with then we can kick Finn out," she said with a smile, looking up through her lashes in that way that always turned Puck on.

Finn looked up as they came out of the bathroom together. He wondered when they would realise they were made for each other. Finn studied Quinn's face for a few seconds. Quinn didn't need to realise it, she already knew, he could tell. It was just Puck who needed to be convinced that there was no one else in the world who would understand him, love him, need him like Quinn did.

"So, Finn," Quinn said with a sigh as she sat down on her bed again, leaning in to Puck as he got himself comfortable at her side. "You wanted to talk to us?" she said, hoping to get him started. "I hope there's an apology in whatever you think you need to say to us," she told him.

"That's the first thing," Finn admitted, with an embarrassed smile. "I have to apologise to both of you for meddling in your lives, for my actions creating the situation you have here," he swallowed hard. "One thing I do have to say as well is, Quinn, I knew about you and Puck the whole time we were dating. I knew about you both even before that. The reason that I did is because you've never been very good at hiding what you feel for him, it's always there on your face, in your eyes, God only knows how other people missed it, they must walk round with their eyes closed. And Puck as much as you feel that you're 'the dude'," Finn said, using air quotes, "when it comes to Quinn, you might as well be the marshmallow man," he looked at Puck to see if he was going to argue that point. It didn't look like it. "You couldn't hide your feelings for Quinn even if your life depended on it," Finn took a second to study them both, saw them glance at each other, noted that Puck's arm was so naturally round the back of Quinn, keeping her at his side, giving her support. Good. That bit was exactly how it should be. Now he had to make them admit exactly what they felt for each other, get them to tell each other, get them talking, get them together.

"Before we get to the condom part, can we just establish that you were idiots for not talking for months?" Finn asked. "I know that after Beth was born, you pretended not to be together because of your moms, but like I said, if they'd known what to look for, they'd have been able to see it like I did. But after New York? That's the bit that stumped me. I never figured that bit out. What happened there?" he asked Quinn.

"I went to see Shelby, tried to see Beth. She wouldn't let me," Quinn admitted. Puck already knew, he'd heard the full story although not from Quinn. "I went a bit nuts," Quinn said with a sighed laugh to cover her embarrassment. "Shelby was one digit away from calling the cops on me, I just couldn't take it, knowing that I'd made the biggest mistake of my life," she shrugged. "Anyway, when I got back to the hotel, Santana and Brittany tried to cheer me up, gave me a make over, that gave me the idea of totally making over my life, changing everything," Quinn looked up at Puck, "blocking you out of it. Everything, hair, clothes, friends, ugh, I was a mess," she admitted. "Maybe I should have tried counselling," she acknowledged.

"And when we came back to school Shelby was there," Puck continued. "I know you felt like she was rubbing your nose in it, especially when she told you to clean up your act before you could meet Beth," he said, hugging a little tighter, "but what you did then was just," he blew out a breath, wondering what word he was searching for.

"I know," Quinn agreed, "I was an idiot. I don't blame Shelby for not allowing me to see Beth. I was a total bitch to her. I was jealous," she shrugged. Quinn couldn't take her eyes off Puck's face, watched him watching her. "I was jealous that she had Beth but even worse, I was more jealous that she had your attention. I couldn't compete with that, I didn't know how to," she said sadly.

"The pull that Shelby had, for me, was always Beth," Puck admitted. He'd thought seriously on the way over here about what Finn had asked. His gut instinct had been to agree that yes, it would always have been Quinn he'd have sought in a crowd. Giving it absolute consideration, thinking of every little thing about her that irritated him, knowing that there was things about him that annoyed the life out of her too, but even those things aside, one day with Quinn would be worth more than one year with anyone else. "If she didn't have Beth, there wouldn't have been anything else with her, she wouldn't have even been a blip on my radar," Puck's hand came up and cupped Quinn's cheek. "The thing with you is, even if there had never been a Beth, never been this," his hand dropped to rest on her stomach, "I would still want to be here, still want to be with you, still love you," he whispered, drawing her close to him for their lips to meet.

"Hm, hm, hm," Finn cleared his throat, very theatrically. "Can we get back to this? Then I can get out of your hair and you can get on with…..whatever," he said, almost teasing. He watched both Quinn and Puck nod, both turn his way. "Alright," he said quietly. "This is the biggest bit. The condom bit," he admitted. "I overheard what you said to Quinn when she asked you to come over here," Finn admitted, blushing a little, "and I know that when you'd been singing you'd hardly taken your eyes off Shelby, even Mr Schue saw that and to be honest, when it comes to women, even I've got more game than him, and that's saying something," Finn muttered the last part. "Anyway, I thought about it for the rest of the day, wondered how to approach you about it, thought about telling you to back off, she's a teacher or whatever, anyway, I just knew you wouldn't take Quinn up on her offer, not without something serious happening first. And Quinn, I knew all about the ovulation tests," Finn told her.

"What the fuck are you? One of the Spy Kids or something?" Puck asked. "How did you know about all that?" he demanded.

"Rachel," Finn admitted. "She noted the wands every day in the bathroom at school, she commented to me that the poor girl who was trying to find out if she was pregnant or not would have much better luck with a pregnancy test rather than an ovulation test," he looked back at Puck, "they work in the same way," he explained. "Pee on a stick, gives you the answer," he shrugged. "I like to Google," he admitted. "Anyway, when I heard some of what Quinn said to you, I saw your face when she was whispering in your ear, she didn't see that, but dude, you were lying to yourself when you said you weren't interested," Finn gave a bigger smile. "'Raw dog a beehive'?" he asked, "that's sick," he grinned. "So after that, I knew that you'd be here, nothing short of the world ending would have kept you away that night, and you are definitely lying to yourself if you can't admit that," Finn said with a knowing look on his face. Puck didn't respond,especially not with a denial.

"Well," Finn said, "I got you talking about it in the locker room, if you remember. I'd already had the idea, so I'd already jabbed the condoms, it was easy enough to convince you that you really wanted to be with Quinn. We talked about what Quinn was really after, remember?" he reminded Puck. "There was no way you were going there without the safety net of condoms so….." he shrugged. "The fly in the ointment came when you did what you did with Ms Corcoran," Finn said frowning. "When you lit out of school, said you had a 'family emergency' it could only be one of four things. Your mom, your sister, your Nana or Beth," Finn said, sighing again. "I checked in with your mom, everyone was fine according to her, that left Beth. I waited near Ms Corcoran's apartment, saw you come home with her, saw the curtains close," he shook his head at Puck. "It didn't take a genius to figure it out. I sent a text to her, you came out a few minutes later looking furious and you drove here," he said, his hands raised, open. "The rest as they say, is history," he finished, his lips pressed together.

"So what now?" Puck asked, "we just forgive you for fucking with our lives, say everything's ok and that's the end of it?"

"No, not really," Finn admitted. "I don't really know what happens next. That's up to you," he said.

"I think it's something we need to talk about, just ourselves," Puck said, standing up. "Thanks for filling us in on all the shit you pulled and the freaky stalker stuff, but I think we're good from here," he told Finn, walking round the bed towards the door. Puck opened it, looking at Finn until he took the hint. "I'll be right back," he told Quinn, following Finn out of the room.

"Are you staying here tonight?" Finn asked as they walked down the stairs together.

"I don't have my jacket or my boots on, I just told Quinn I'd be right back," Puck said as he looked at Finn, "what do you think?" he asked.

"I think it's time I went home and stopped interfering in everyone else's business," Finn replied. "You might be interested to know that Ms Corcoran and Mr Schue are dating," he told Puck quietly, as Puck opened the front door to let him out. "If anyone is a good father figure for Beth, it's Mr Schue. I'd be proud to call him my dad," he said with a smile before he turned and walked away to his car.

Puck watched Finn climb in and drive away before he closed the door. There was something that felt right about Mr Schue being involved with Beth in that way. If he hadn't discovered that his ex-wife was faking her pregnancy, Beth would have been his daughter from day one. Puck felt at peace with that bit of news. He hoped Quinn would too. He slowly climbed the stairs back up to Quinn and considered again how right this felt. And who was he trying to kid? When had there ever been a time that watching Quinn walk down the hall hadn't made his heart skip a beat, or hearing her sing hadn't made his blood run a little warmer or feeling her next to him hadn't got him instantly hard? Never. Not ever. Puck knew it. Quinn knew it. And apparently Finn knew it too.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: No claim to ownership of the character names or traits that were the invention of other people. Where they are in this fiction is from me.**

**A/N: I have taken some liberties with how Shelby came to be the person who adopted Beth. I'd like to think that it did happen this way.**

**After Finn left...**

"Hey," Puck said softly as he went back into Quinn's room. "Finn just told me something else, something you should know about," he sighed as he sat down near Quinn's knees. "Shelby and Mr Schue are dating," he announced. He watched Quinn's face for her reaction.

Quinn nodded. "I know," she replied. "Mr Schue told me already," she gave Puck a tiny, partial smile. "He asked me to talk to you about it, things kind of got in the way this week," she shrugged sadly. "I'm sorry for not telling you," she said, reaching out to touch Puck's hand. "I should have told you," Quinn said, a touch sadly.

"How do you feel about that?" Puck asked. "I sort of feel like it's the right order of things, you know?" he said, still trying to sort out his own feelings, how to put them into words. He knew he had to tell her the rest. "And I have to confess something," he said quietly, looking down at her hand that he now held in his. He didn't think he'd be able to look in her eyes when he said this. "All the time Beth's been in Lima I've been spending time with her, taking her to visit my mom and Sarah," he said, chancing a look at Quinn's face. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before, I'm sorry that I took an opportunity that you were denied," he swallowed hard, seeing the hurt, the agony in Quinn's eyes.

Quinn withdrew her hand slowly from Puck's. "How could you do that to me?" she asked, her voice thick with held in tears. "How could you?" was all that Quinn could say. "I need you to leave," she told Puck. "I don't think I can be around you right now, I need to think about this, us," she said, the tears bubbling closer to the surface.

"No," Puck replied immediately, "no, we have to talk this out," he insisted. "How can we be together, be a family, if we can't talk stuff through?" he asked.

"This isn't _stuff_," Quinn shouted. "This is you cheating on me," she declared.

"How do you figure that?" Puck cried. "How is it possible to cheat on someone when you're not even together?" he asked.

"It's the parent equivalent," Quinn shot back. "You've spent hour after hour with our daughter and never once told me about it. How can you think that's not like cheating?" she asked, feeling the rage building inside her.

"Because it isn't," Puck insisted. "And the only reason Shelby didn't let you have the same privilege is because you went crazy and did stupid stuff to try to get Beth back," he reminded Quinn. "And you were never going to get Beth back. You're damn lucky she didn't call the cops on you for the shit you pulled," he said, standing up and walking round the bed for his boots.

"Where are you going?" Quinn asked.

"Home," Puck told her. "You just told me to get out of here," he reminded her. "Why?" he asked, twisting the knife just a little, "did you think I was going to call and see Beth?" he asked.

"Shelby, is more like it," Quinn replied. "Funny that," she said with a hollow laugh. "Last time you went from her bed to mine, will you tell her that you've just come from my bed when you climb into hers?" she asked. "After you've shoved Mr Schue out of it, that is," she added.

"I haven't been _in_ your bed," Puck stressed, "I've been sat _on_ it, fully clothed, with another guy in the room too. Besides, the only bed I'm going to is my own," he added, sitting down to pull on his boots.

"And do you think she would believe that?" Quinn asked.

"Why not?" Puck asked, "it's the truth." He stood up and looked round for his jacket.

"Don't go," whispered Quinn suddenly. "Please don't go to Shelby, I can't bear it," she said with a sob.

Puck sat down again and hauled Quinn into his arms. "I won't, I never intended to," he told her, rubbing her back, rocking with her just a little, anything to try to soothe her. "Shhhh," he murmured against her head.

"We can work this out, can't we?" Quinn asked, sitting up a little, her hand on his face.

"I want to work it out, I don't want to fight with you," Puck admitted, "and I don't want to go home. I want to stay here with you, take care of you," he said, pulling Quinn close again.

Outside the door Judy felt a little more settled. She'd heard their raised voices when she passed to go to her own room, heard Quinn tell Noah to get out. She was glad he hadn't gone immediately, it would give them a chance to sort through their feelings, their hurts. Judy really hoped that she and Naomi had done the right thing, encouraging them to be together.

"So how do you feel about Mr Schue being involved with Beth?" Puck asked. He'd taken his boots off again, they'd both settled back onto the bed, laid together, Quinn tight up against Puck's side, their arms round each other.

"I wanted Mr Schue to be her dad," Quinn reminded Puck. "I wasn't too happy that he came in a package deal with Terrible Terri, but I think Mr Schue would have been an amazing dad. I hope he's in Beth's life for a long time," Quinn said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Puck agreed softly. "I do too."

Quinn wanted to say a lot of things but she was feeling far too emotional to put them into words that would make sense. Puck could feel the tenseness of her shoulders in his arm and willed her to relax. Eventually they both fell asleep.

Quinn came awake very slowly, gently, feeling herself being moved around, her clothes disappearing, stroked away by gentle hands. She stretched, her body moving like silk, like liquid metal, fluid, sinuous, almost dance-like. She felt Puck beside her, felt his body still clothed. Quinn rubbed up against him, her sensitive, naked skin taking pleasure from the rough denim of his jeans, the soft brushed cotton of his shirt, the warmth of his skin, the hardness of his body.

"If you don't lie still," Puck murmured, "this is going to turn into something more," he warned. 'This' referring to Puck actually taking Quinn's clothes off to make her more comfortable and trying to get her dressed in her pyjamas all without disturbing her. He'd failed at that.

"Maybe I want more," Quinn replied, her voice husky with sleep. She stretched again, her eyes still closed. She lay on her back, her arms above her head, her form laid bare, for Puck's eyes only.

Puck hesitated, his face showing the strain. "No you don't," he sighed, gazing down at Quinn, wanting nothing more than to give her what she'd sort of asked for. "Not while you're still more than half asleep," he added. If she'd been fully awake and making the same offer, that would have been different.

"Time s'it?" Quinn asked, her question slurred.

"It's after eleven," Puck responded. "Come on, let me help you get your pj's on," he said, almost begging her to comply.

"Too warm," Quinn whined then stretched again, turning over, away from Puck. He sighed, covering his face with his hands for a second. He sat up and pulled his shirt and socks off then stood and dropped his jeans at the side of the bed. He climbed back in, turned off the lamps and covered them both with the light comforter he unfolded from the bottom of the bed.

"Night," Puck whispered and kissed Quinn's ear. He couldn't see her face in the dark, she was turned too far away from him. He didn't see her eyes open or the satisfied smile on her lips. But he felt the slight shift of her hips into him. And almost wept.

Quinn woke to the sound of birds singing. She stretched within the confines of two strong arms, a hot, hard body pressed up against her back. A rough, callused hand moulded her breast, the other swept slowly down her body passing over the shallow indentation of her belly button, lower, veering off to stroke the curve of her thigh. "Are you awake?" Puck's huskily voiced question came from just above her ear.

"Totally," Quinn breathed as she stretched some more, her legs parting just a little.

"Good," Puck murmured as he nipped at her throat, found the sensitive spot below her ear. Puck rolled Quinn over so that she lay on her back, he leaned over her. "It's been a very," he kissed her, "long," he kissed her again, "night," he finished with a longer kiss then smiled down at her.

Quinn's hand stroked up Puck's chest, curved round his neck and up over his head, pulling his face towards hers, their lips meeting again. Puck's lips worshipped every part of Quinn's body till she begged for more, needed more, needed him. He rose above then sank into her, the sizzling heat between them ignited, grew wilder, rose higher then exploded.

They rocked together, very slowly, languorously, no rush, no hurry, just keeping the tremors alive. "When we're like this," Puck whispered softly, "I can never understand how we fell apart," he told Quinn. "What happened to us?" he asked.

"We're good together like this," Quinn agreed, undulating beneath him just a little more, feeling the need for him growing again, feeling him grow again. "It's when we let other people get in the way that we can't handle it," she said, her breath catching in her throat as Puck leaned down to sip from the hollow between her collar bones.

"But we can't just stay in bed forever, can we?" he asked with a little laugh, shuddering as he felt Quinn clench her inner muscles, he felt the ripples deep in the pit of his stomach.

"It'd be perfect if we could," Quinn sighed. "We could let real life just pass us by, we could stay here, forever, grow old with you still inside me," she groaned, feeling him flex inside her as she squeezed her muscles again.

Puck responded and took them both to the edge again, watching her face as she flew apart a split second before he followed her.

"And now I really have to get up," Puck sighed. "I've got three pools this morning and another four this afternoon," he said rolling over to the side of the bed. "One of them is the pool at Shelby's building," he looked over his shoulder. "I think you should come with me," he offered quietly.

"Do you usually see Beth when you clean that pool?" Quinn asked, swallowing hard before he answered. Puck nodded. "Then you should go alone," she replied. "If I'm with you, Shelby won't let you see her, and that's not fair to Beth," she broke off, her voice cracking. "She should know at least one of us," she sniffed.

"No," Puck disagreed. "She's young enough to forget she ever met either of us. Either _we_ should have a relationship with her or _we_ shouldn't," he said, his eyes flashing with something, determination maybe. "Just a minute," he said, picking up his phone. He scrolled through his contacts to find Shelby's number. He kept eye contact with Quinn as he pressed send then put the phone on speaker. As soon as Shelby's voice came on the line Puck broke in. "Shelby? It's Puck, I'm with Quinn, you're on speaker," he shrugged to Quinn, it was only fair to warn her, he'd hate for Shelby to say something more to upset Quinn.

"Ok," Shelby answered carefully, "good morning, both of you," was all she could think of to say.

"I've told Quinn about all the visitation I've had with Beth, she knows everything, I've told her everything," Puck said to Shelby, still looking at Quinn. His hand sought hers among the rumpled covers on the bed. "The main thing I need to tell you is that," he paused and lifted Quinn's hand to his lips, "at least I hope," he added with a smile, "that we are together, me and Quinn. For good this time," he said as his smile got a little bigger, saw a corresponding smile on Quinn's face as she nodded silently. "Really together, not hiding away or sneaking around, really together, a proper couple," he couldn't believe how many times and how many ways he'd said it already. Or how right it felt.

"Well that's-that's great. Great news. Good for both of you and good for the baby," Shelby replied and she sounded positive, sincere, she sounded almost relieved.

"I know I usually see Beth when I come over and do the pool in your building, usually take her home to see my mom and yes, Quinn knows about that too," he added quickly, "but I don't think it's right for me to be allowed and not Quinn," he said, a touch of sadness in his voice. "Same for Judy, my mom's been allowed to get to know Beth just a little, she should have been too," he shrugged at Quinn. Quinn still hadn't spoken. "I suppose what I'm asking is if we could come to an arrangement, maybe have something set up, maybe a…a once a month thing, I don't know I'm just making this up as I go along," Puck admitted, "but something that includes all of us, my family and Quinn's," he ended softly then waited.

Shelby was quiet for a long moment. "Is this something I can think about?" she asked. "I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea, I'm sorry Quinn," she added, "but your track record hasn't been the best, you've got to admit," Shelby said, her voice wasn't accusing, it was strangely neutral.

"No, sure, I understand," Quinn managed, her voice sounding as though she had a cold, a sore throat. "Of course I understand, I know that I haven't shown myself in a very good light," she finished, trailing off just short of a sob. Quinn wished she could say that all the actions she had taken hadn't been those of her rational self, but she couldn't. She was still a few steps away from admitting that out loud. She could admit it to herself, but to not to other people yet. Not even to Puck. Yet.

"There's one thing I'd like you to keep in mind while you're making your decision," Puck added. "It was Quinn's decision to have Beth adopted, not mine, I wanted to keep her, you already know that and it was Quinn who picked your application from the thirty or so that the hospital gave us to read through. I'd picked a couple who'd been married for years but couldn't have kids, so Quinn's the one you need to thank for you having Beth in the first place, not me," he said, with a soft smile at Quinn. They both remembered the hours they'd spent pouring over the applications, Puck had complained bitterly that they could have used that time to be with Beth for the short time that she was still theirs. Quinn had insisted on them thoroughly checking each of the applications to find the one perfect family for their one perfect thing.

"Well, give me some time," Shelby replied without comment, "I'll let you know," she ended the call.

"You didn't have to tell her that," Quinn said quietly.

"Yes I did," Puck replied. "She needed to know that _you_ made the decision that gave her what she has today," he shrugged, "if she still won't let you be involved with Beth then I won't be either, regardless of what she says. It's both of us or neither of us," he said firmly, leaning forward to kiss Quinn softly. "Now get up, get dressed, we're going for breakfast then you can watch me clean some pools," he grinned. "Daylight's fading woman, get moving," he growled teasingly then got up, heading for Quinn's shower.

Puck felt so alive as he stepped under the running water, like he hadn't for months. He knew what was different. He was where he should be. The only place on the planet that he wanted to be. Only one little thing could make it more perfect but that was out of his control. He'd have to wait to see if Shelby made the right decision. He'd have to learn to live with it if she didn't. And he would live with it. He knew now that without Quinn in his life, even the precious time he'd spent with Beth had been tainted. Puck had spent the whole night sifting through every thought, every feeling, every memory he had of both Quinn and Beth. He understood now that the whole year without Beth had been bearable, there had been many times he hadn't even given her a second thought, he knew she was loved and well cared for, everything they'd hoped and prayed her new life would be. What hadn't been bearable had been the months when he and Quinn didn't speak, when he and Quinn didn't touch, didn't kiss. Puck wanted to _live_ for the rest of his life, not exist in some sort of void and a life without Quinn would be just that. A void. A nothingness. Puck smiled to himself and hummed as he rubbed his hands over his head, rinsing shampoo from his hair, knowing that all day he'd be able to catch whiffs of Quinn, of her shampoo, of her shower gel. He turned as he felt soft hands trace his hips. "I wondered when you were going to join me," he told Quinn, dropping a kiss on her upturned lips.

"My mom just stopped in, she wants to know what you want for breakfast," Quinn asked. Puck gave her a look. "Why did I ask?" she breathed the question to herself. Quinn went back to the door into her bedroom. "Waffles please, mom," she called then closed the bathroom door again, climbing in to the shower behind Puck.

After breakfast they left to get Puck's truck to visit the first of his clients, an elderly couple who also liked Puck to do a little yard work.

"And tell your Nana I'll see her at the quilting bee," the little old lady said as Puck climbed back into his truck.

"I will Mrs Cromer," Puck called back, smiling.

"They were sweet," Quinn smiled. "It's a wonder you get anything done if they keep interrupting you to tell you stuff about the old days, the old country and your heritage," she added, shaking her head. "Or was that for my benefit?" she asked.

"No, that was a fairly typical Cromer visit," Puck replied. "They've never even been out of Ohio so I don't know where the accent comes from. They're always telling me I should be on a kibbutz somewhere in Israel. Like that's ever going to happen," he scoffed and surreptitiously checked his phone to see if Shelby had been in touch.

"No she hasn't," Quinn told him, knowing what he was doing.

Puck's morning followed his usual routine, made just a little brighter by being with Quinn. "Time for lunch," he announced, looking up at the sun.

"Can you tell the time by looking up in the sky?" Quinn asked, sounding impressed. She'd never known that about him before and he'd never worn a watch in all the years she'd known him. He had a couple of leather surfer type wrist bands that he never took off, but never a watch.

"No," Puck replied, laughing, looking at Quinn like she was nuts. "I can tell the time by how hungry I am," he said, laughing even more at her disappointed face. "What? I'm supposed to be a freakin' boy scout now?" he scoffed. Quinn rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry at him before climbing into the truck.

"Hey ma," Puck called as he walked into his mother's house. "What's for lunch?" he shouted, hearing his mom answer from somewhere upstairs.

Naomi appeared at the top of the stairs, a pile of laundry in her arms. "Hi Quinn," she said, sounding a little out of breath. "You're staying for lunch too?" she asked with a smile.

"Only if it's not too much trouble," Quinn replied. "Do you want a hand with that?" she asked, holding her arms out to take the washing from Naomi.

"Could you?" Naomi asked, "oh thank you Quinn, that's very kind. Would you put it on a cool wash please? I don't want the colours to run," she added, bustling into the kitchen ahead of them. "Noah, give Quinn a hand with that please," she ordered, already washing her hands to get on with preparing lunch.

"How does that work?" Puck grumbled. "You offer to help and I get stuck actually doing the work," he muttered at Quinn, scowling at her. "This sucks, I hope you don't expect me to do laundry when I move in to your house," he warned.

"So you're definitely moving in then?" Quinn asked, her eyebrow quirked up in question.

Puck straightened up from picking up the socks he'd dropped, tossing them into the machine then setting it going. He hustled Quinn backwards till she was crowded against the machine, a little smirk on his face. He picked her up under her arms and sat her on the machine, pushing her knees apart and stepping between them. "What do you think?" he asked, sweeping in for a long, hot kiss.

Quinn's arms wound round Puck's shoulders, her feet crossed in the small of his back. They didn't intend coming up for air till they absolutely had to.

"Mom," Sarah yelled, the word stretching out far longer than Puck would have thought possible. "Tell Noah to put Quinn down, they can't even do the laundry without trying to eat each other," she shouted.

Puck turned and looked over his shoulder at his little sister. "S'up freako?" he asked. "Jealous, much?" he mocked.

"Yeah, right," Sarah scoffed. "Like I want to spend my Saturdays doing laundry," she laughed as she left the utility room, heading back to the kitchen.

"Thank fuck," Puck muttered, "this thing's about to go into, oh yeah, feel that?" he whispered into Quinn's neck, both of them enjoying the vibrations of the machine, Quinn to the point of being both breathless and speechless, Puck's wicked fingers adding to her pleasure. Puck smirked at her glassy eyed expression. "You'll never look at a washing machine in the same way again, will you?" he asked with a huge grin. The grin got wider as Quinn agreed with him, still trying to regain control of her breathing.

"Lunch," Naomi called from the kitchen. Puck helped Quinn down from her perch, she wobbled a little, her knees just a touch weak, then took her hand to walk into the kitchen. "Sit down," Naomi invited after they'd washed up ready to eat.

While they ate conversation centred on general every day topics. Once Sarah had left the table, heading out to be with her friends, Naomi turned the conversation to more personal matters.

"I saw Carole Hudson at the market this morning," Naomi told them. She couldn't get used to calling her old friend 'Carole Hummel'. "Errm, she was, erm, she told me about erm, Finn," Naomi finally managed to spit out. "Did…did you know about that?" she questioned, not looking at either of them.

"Yes," Puck answered slowly, figuring his mom had found out that Finn had come out.

"How long have you known?" Naomi asked. "Carole says he only told them this week, she's upset, of course, she thought Finn could talk to her about anything. Apparently not this," she commented, getting up to refill her coffee.

"Finn sort of blurted it out this week at school," Puck replied. "I don't know if he meant to, it was about something else and it sort of was the reason for the something else. In a weird sort of way. I think," he finished, more confused than his mom with his own explanation.

"Well thank you for clearing that up, Noah," Naomi commented sarcastically. "I thought he'd have told you when you went camping the other week," she said, blowing on her coffee.

"When did you go camping?" Quinn asked, swirling her milk around in the glass.

"When we were about twelve," Puck answered, wondering if his mom was on drugs.

"You told me you went camping," Naomi cried, sounding shocked. "You were out the whole weekend, your Nana had to come over to stay with Sarah because you were away, camping with…oh," she stopped suddenly. "You were with Quinn, weren't you?" she asked, finally making the connection.

"Oh, yeah, right," Puck replied, looking a bit embarrassed, remembering he'd used Finn and a fake camping trip to explain his absence all weekend. "Well I couldn't say where I really was, could I?" he asked Quinn. "And you can blame Finn for the situation we're in now," he informed his mother. "He was the one who gave me a box of condoms that he'd stuck pins through," he explained. Then suddenly wished he hadn't. "Forget it, it doesn't matter. We're together and we're happy about it, right Q?" he said firmly, taking her hand on the table. "And we're doing this together, totally together, a family," he stated, nodding at her before leaning to give her a little kiss.

"Back up a minute," Naomi demanded. "What do you mean, condoms with pins in?" she asked.

"That's the only thing you got out of that?" Puck asked, delaying having to answer.

"He means that Finn overheard me asking Noah to come and stay with me, had worked out what I was trying to do," she glanced at Puck, "when I still thought it was a good idea to try and trick Noah into getting me pregnant," she admitted with a blush. "Finn encouraged Noah to take me up on my offer but provided him with doctored condoms so that we both thought we were being safe when actually we weren't. Does that make more sense?" she asked.

"All except for the part where Finn would do something so stupid as to give you useless birth control, knowing full well that you'd use it, urgh," Naomi grunted, her hands thrust through her hair. "I could swing for that boy," she growled. "Does he realise what he's done? Does he know?" she demanded.

"Oh yeah," Puck replied, "he knows." he nodded. "Finn knows exactly what he's done. He even told us why. You are not going to believe why," Puck laughed, "he did it because he thought I might leave Lima if me and Quinn didn't sort ourselves out," he finished with a humourless smile. "Good old Finn, eh?" he said with a sarcastic wink.

"Oh. My God," Naomi breathed, staring wide-eyed and disbelieving at Puck. "He must be crazy. Is he trying to control everyone's lives? Or just yours?" she asked, shaking her head, still unable to comprehend how someone could be so stupid.

"Just ours apparently," Puck answered, he picked up his soda and finished it. He stood and carried his plate and glass to the sink then turned back and collected Quinn's. "We'll have to get going, pools to clean, people to annoy," he told his mom with a grin. "We'll be back later," he said, holding a hand out for Quinn to take. "Bye mom," Puck called over his shoulder as they went out the front door.

Naomi sat at the kitchen table, still considering all she had been told. She picked up the phone and called Judy…


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: No ownership is either claimed or implied. **

**A/N: WWSD - or in other words, what will Shelby do?**

"S'up Monkey Face?" Puck whispered to Beth as he picked her up. She'd tottered straight to him the second Mr Schue had let go of her hand. Quinn stood beside Mr Schue, both of them watching Puck and the beautiful little girl in his arms.

Beth was confidently, comfortably chattering away to Puck, nodding and telling him something quite intently, whatever it was. Puck was nodding in agreement with her, putting his own words in to try to make sense of the sounds that Beth was making.

"They do look good together," Mr Schue whispered to Quinn, his hand resting on her shoulder, giving her just a little touch of comfort. "Don't they?" he asked.

Quinn couldn't speak, she nodded, her lips pressed tight together, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. She walked very slowly over to them. She couldn't make her voice work to say 'hello'. Quinn wished that she could, but it was impossible. She could barely even breathe.

Mr Schue gave them a few minutes. "Hey, Beth," Mr Schue called softly. "Let's you and me go upstairs to mommy," he said, holding out his arms to take the little girl.

Puck gave Beth one last hug, he closed his eyes and breathed in, his lips on her head. "Bye, honey," he whispered. "Can you say 'bye' to Quinn?" he asked, his own voice more strained than he'd ever heard it before.

Beth turned her beautiful smiling face to Quinn. She pointed her finger and delicately touched Quinn's nose, wrinkling her own little button nose up. "Node," Beth announced, looking very proud of herself.

"She's trying to say 'nose'," Mr Schue said with a smile. "Come on, Munchkin," he said, holding his arms out to Beth, "we have to get back to mommy," he reminded her. "But mommy wanted us to give this letter to Puck and Quinn, didn't she?" he grinned at Beth.

Quinn drew up every ounce of courage and stroked her trembling hand gently over Beth's head and down her back. She'd touched her. She'd touched Beth and she hadn't fallen apart. Quinn quickly drew back her hand, thrusting both of them into her pockets. Her fingers itched to grab hold of Beth and never let her go. She still had to work on controlling that impulse.

Puck took the envelope from Mr Schue as Mr Schue took Beth from Puck. "I'll see you guys on Monday," Mr Schue told them both, his tight smile showing the strain he'd felt over the last few minutes but had managed to hide. He'd offered to be the messenger, but he'd insisted on taking Beth with him to deliver the letter to the young couple. He didn't actually know what Shelby had written, but he hoped it was good news for them.

"Thank you Mr Schue," Quinn finally managed to say, her voice sounding very unlike her usual self. "You don't know what it means to have just even a few moments with her," she nodded towards the baby in his arms. "Thank you," she repeated. Mr Schue nodded at them both and left the pool area carrying Beth with him. Puck watched Beth wave over Mr Schue's shoulder and waved back, mouthing 'bye bye' to her.

As soon as they'd turned the corner Puck took Quinn's hand. "Are you ok?" he asked, watching Quinn, hoping that he wouldn't see her fall apart. Quinn nodded, her throat closing on the words she wanted to say. Puck drew her close and hugged her tightly. "I have to clean the pool," he reminded her. It was his last job of the day and though he'd much rather just get in his truck and drive them both far away, he had a lot riding on this. There was something he still hadn't told Quinn yet.

Puck forced himself to take his time, do the job properly. He couldn't afford to get this pool wrong. The company that owned this building also owned another six apartment blocks in the Lima/Shawnee/Elida area and all of them had indoor pools. He'd been invited to put in a bid for the contract to take care of all seven pools all year round. If he could land that contract, it would be a major boost to his and Quinn's future, their security. The only person who knew about that was Artie. He'd helped Puck to generate a professional looking quote. He was just waiting to hear if he'd got the contract. If he did, then he'd tell Quinn. And his mom, obviously. But Quinn first.

Quinn sat fidgeting on one of the recliners by the pool. She couldn't sit still. She could barely sit. She'd crossed and uncrossed her legs so many times Puck thought she might have them tangled together when she tried to stand up. "Quinn," he called, keeping his voice low, calm. "You need to relax. Take a breath and relax. As soon as I'm done here we'll read the letter. Just relax. Ok?" he said gently, still working steadily to ensure the chlorine level in the water was within limits, that the filters were all clean and working, everything that he usually did with a pool, except he didn't have to scoop any leaves or bugs out of it or any of the other unsavoury items that he sometimes came across in less well kept pools.

Finally, Puck finished his work and secured his equipment in his truck. He drove them away, pulling into the parking lot of an office building that was deserted for the weekend. Quinn was nervous almost to the point of feeling sick. "Are you ready for this?" Puck asked, holding both of her hands, staring into her eyes. Quinn nodded, biting her trembling lips. "Ok, let's see what it says," he said, pulling the envelope from his pocket. Puck unfolded the note and cleared his throat. "Dear Quinn and Noah," he read. "I have struggled with my conscience since your call this morning. First of all I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, especially you Quinn, for the gift that you gave me," Puck paused and looked at Quinn. He gave her hand a reassuring rub. "How are you doing?" he asked. Quinn could only sniff and nod, still keeping her lips tight together to hold everything in. Puck looked back at the page in front of him and continued to read aloud.

"I have to apologise to you Quinn, I haven't treated you fairly. I think I was scared, scared that Beth would somehow recognise you for who you are, how important you are. I know that she feels a connection with you, Noah, I couldn't risk the possibility of that connection being even stronger with you Quinn. I realise how selfish that makes me, I just hope that you can understand." Puck looked up again. "Still ok?" he asked.

Quinn let out a huge breath that she didn't even realise she was holding. "Yes," she answered faintly. "Keep going," she said, nodding to the letter. Quinn was glad that Puck was reading it, her eyes were so full of tears and she was shaking so much that she wouldn't have been able to see the paper, let alone the words.

"I've talked this over with Will, asked his opinion and his advice. We came to the conclusion that you were right this morning, Noah. I should have treated you equally, given you both the same opportunities. I didn't and that's something I will have to deal with." Puck glanced at Quinn again. He still couldn't tell what she was thinking, he hoped whatever it was would be rational.

"At this moment I'm not comfortable with allowing unsupervised access, I'm sure that's something you can understand," Puck's voice held a hint of humour when he read that bit out. He caught Quinn's eye and winked. "I wonder why that is?" he asked with a grin. Even without reading further, the bit that was screaming out at him was the 'unsupervised access'. The way it was worded made him think that if she wouldn't allow 'unsupervised', she may allow 'supervised' access. And that had to be good, right?

"What else does it say?" Quinn asked breathlessly.

Puck skimmed through the rest of the letter. "She hasn't made any decision yet. She says that's not meant to torture us, she'll let us know as soon as she has," he glanced over the top of the letter to Quinn's face and watched the light turn out, like someone had turned off the sun. "I'm sorry Q," he whispered, leaning over to pull her into his arms. "Let's go home," he said against her hair, feeling her shaking, feeling her sobbing. Puck kissed the crown of her head. "Buckle up," he urged, his voice suspiciously husky.

Quinn sucked in a breath and slid to her own side of the bench seat. She couldn't speak all the way to Puck's house, she watched the buildings and the streets passing by in a blur.

"We have some packing to do," Puck announced as he pulled up outside his house. "You still want me to move in with you, right?" he asked, lifting Quinn's hand from the seat between them.

Quinn half laughed, half sobbed, tears still teetering on the edge of her eyes. "Have you decided that to try to make me feel better about Shelby's letter?" she asked, fearing that it probably was.

"No," Puck denied. "I decided that because waking up with you this morning, it felt like," he paused a second, "it felt like I'd come home, you know?" he smiled and jiggled her hand a little. "Like we should wake up together every day, like we used to," he admitted. Quinn smiled at Puck. "I love that I can make you smile," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her. "Even when shit happens, I can still make you smile," he sighed, looking into her shining eyes.

Puck helped Quinn out of the truck and held her hand as they went into the house.

"Hello you two," Naomi smiled, looking up from her magazine. "What are you up to tonight? Any plans?" she asked.

"Errrm, yeah," Puck nodded. "Moving house," he replied with a wink at Quinn. "Nana can come over this week if you need her for Sarah, can't she?" he asked.

"Sure, then we can get your room decorated and Nana can move in all together," Naomi told them with a smile. Connie Geller would be very relieved. Naomi was too, but she didn't want to show it to her son, she didn't want him to think she was chasing him out of his own home. But in all fairness, his place was to be with the mother of his child. And Naomi needed to know that her own mother was safe. The neighbours who had moved in next door to Connie recently were very unsavoury characters leaving Connie feeling unsafe and scared in her own home.

Quinn went upstairs ahead of Puck. In his bedroom, she sat down heavily on the bed, every emotion draining out of her. She felt more than a little numb. "You ok?" Puck asked quietly as he came through the door, carrying a couple of large holdalls.

Quinn sighed, her shoulders slumped even further. "I just…." she started to say and broke off. She took a deep breath and tried again. "I just thought, when Mr Schue gave us that letter that it would have…." she broke off again.

"Been a bit more positive?" Puck asked. "Said that we could have visits?" he added. Quinn nodded to both questions. "I did too," Puck agreed, sitting beside her and putting his arm round her shoulder. "But the way I read it, it's like she's seriously thinking about supervised access. Maybe she'll work it out soon," he finished, hope in his voice.

Quinn sighed again. "I hope so," she said sadly.

Puck emptied the closet of most of his clothes. He put Quinn's stuff in the holdall too. Quinn emptied the drawers. She found some things that surprised her, warmed her heart just a little.

"That's from New York," she exclaimed, picking up a receipt that had a photo pinned to it. "From that little place down from the hotel, the one where you bought us all ice cream…and that's me and you," she said, her voice quieter, a little puzzled. Quinn tried to think back. They'd been sat in booths, their backs to each other, she remembered that it was set out like a 1950's diner, curved booths, Formica tables, jukebox. She had been sat with Santana and Brittany and possibly Mercedes too, she couldn't quite remember. Puck had been sat in the next booth, possibly with Sam and she couldn't remember where everyone else sat. She did remember turning to sit at the side, having a picture taken with…yes it had been Puck who turned to sit out of the side of his booth as she had. "I don't really remember much about that day," Quinn admitted. "I kind of blanked it out," she added with a little embarrassed laugh. "I was a mess," she admitted. "Oh God, look at my hair," she cried, embarrassed even further. It was the day that Santana had cut it for her, before she'd been to see Roberta, her stylist who had finished it, made a proper job of the sassy, tousled bob.

"Hot like a pixie," Puck replied, stepping up close, his arm sliding round Quinn's waist, pulling her into his body. "First time I saw you with your hair cut short like that, I nearly swallowed my tongue," he admitted. "Your neck has to be the hottest, sexiest neck on the planet," he added huskily, "and just looking at it gets me harder than," he glanced at Quinn's face, embarrassed just a touch for revealing that. "Too much information?" he asked, trying to lighten the moment.

"Mm" Quinn agreed, her face showing just a little of the warm pleasure that was swirling around in her stomach. Even something as small as that had the power to lift her spirits. "A little too much," she nodded, "but I can handle it," she announced.

"If you want to get your hair cut really short again, I wouldn't mind," Puck told her, moving away to carry on with his packing. "I might have to walk around with a permanent boner but hey, it's all good," he smirked then laughed when Quinn rolled her eyes at him.

"I thought you were all about the boobs?" Quinn asked, her eyebrow quirked up, her lips trying to hide a smile.

"Boobs, ass, neck," Puck listed, "doesn't matter, every part of you turns me on," he admitted. "The way you walk down the halls at school, like you own the place and everyone just steps aside to let you pass, the way you bite your lip and look up at me….there….right there, just like that," he said quickly as Quinn did exactly that, looked up at him through her lashes, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "Yeah, feel what that does to me," Puck whispered, stepping closer to Quinn's body. The distance between their lips disappeared, Puck's groan of appreciation was answered by Quinn's moan of longing. They still had packing to do.

An hour later and Puck had just about everything he'd need ready to go. Quinn carried his guitar downstairs, Puck followed on with one of the huge holdalls. When he went back up for the other, Sarah came to hug Quinn.

"Thank you," Sarah breathed, holding on to Quinn really tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered. Sarah waited till her brother was halfway down the stairs, near enough to hear her to speak again. "You've no idea how long I've wished I was an only child. And now I'm getting my dream, thank you," she ended, almost sobbing the last part. A tad overacted but a good effort.

"Oh Sarah, I didn't realise you'd miss me so much," Puck cried, his face the picture of concern. "I'll put my stuff back, I can't leave my baby sister so upset. Sorry Quinn, you and our baby will have to manage without me. My little sister needs me here….." he finished, laughing, he couldn't carry on anymore, especially not when Sarah spun round to glare at him.

"No you're not," Sarah insisted. "You're leaving, I'm going to be the only child here and I'm going to get spoilt rotten. I deserve it, you had mom to yourself for years before I was born, it's only fair. Go. Take him, take him now, go," she instructed Quinn, ushering her to the door.

"You're both nuts," Quinn laughed, "and you'll miss each other," she added.

"I'm moving ten minutes that way," Puck said, pointing in the direction of Dudley Road. "I don't think I'll be far enough away for anyone to miss me or for me to miss anyone," he stated firmly. Puck carried both holdalls out to the truck, Quinn followed with the guitar. "She's going to be pissed when she realises I haven't left my Xbox," he grinned at Quinn. They both smiled and waved at Sarah and Naomi who were on the doorstep waving them off.

After unpacking Puck's things in Quinn's -now their - room, they had dinner with Judy, he had been instructed to call her that now. Puck and Quinn took charge of washing up once they'd finished eating. When they'd done with the clean up and were getting settled in the den to watch TV, maybe fool around a little, or at least Puck hoped they would, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Puck called, already standing up. Quinn stayed where she was, stretched out on the sofa, Judy called her distracted thanks from the lounge. Puck opened the front door and found himself face to face with Russell Fabray.

"What the hell are _you_ doing in my house?" Russell growled at Puck then pushed his way past to find his ex-wife. "Judy? Judy?" he shouted. "What the hell is _he_ doing here?" Russell demanded when Judy looked up nervously from her embroidery.

"Well…um…..ah…" Judy stuttered, not able to form an answer, caught off guard.

"He lives here," Quinn answered for them all, "and it's not _your_ house. Not anymore," she added, leaning against the doorframe as if she didn't have a care in the world. She smiled up at Puck's scowling face, her hand on his chest.

"Is that true?" Russell barked at Judy. She still looked as though she was afraid to say the wrong thing, couldn't put together an answer. "You let the asshole who defiled our baby girl, move in here?" he demanded an answer, pointing at Quinn, glaring at Judy.

"Is that how you get your kicks?" Puck asked, looking at Russell with disgust. "Frightening women? Judy, you don't have to be afraid of him, he doesn't live here. This is _your_ house. _Yours_. If you don't want him in here, just say the word," he advised the visibly trembling woman.

"It's alright Noah, thank you," Judy replied softly, her voice quivering. "You're just leaving, isn't that right Russell? You know you don't get to lay the law down in here anymore, it's not your house, it's _my_ house," she added, her voice gaining strength, confidence. "And actually, I'd like you to leave. I have nothing to say to you, if you have anything to say to me you can do it through your lawyer. Goodbye Russell," Judy told him, turning back to her embroidery.

Russell Fabray almost stamped his foot in temper, his impatience and frustration evident for them all to see. He spun on his heel and stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him.

Judy dropped her needlework, her hands shaking. "Oh," she breathed, the relief in her voice was unmistakeable. "Oh God. What will he do now?" she asked, turning frightened eyes on Quinn.

"He can't do anything," Quinn reminded her. "The restraining order is still valid, isn't it?" she asked. "Call your lawyer first thing on Monday, see if there's anything else that can be put in place," she advised.

Puck looked at them both, worried for them both. "Is he likely to get violent?" he asked.

"Not physically," Quinn said, shaking her head. "Verbally, mentally yes he's a bully, but he's only ever actually raised a hand to her once. He shouts a lot, calls you names and knows how to make you feel like crap," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Doesn't make him a saint," Puck muttered. "You sure you're ok?" he asked Judy, seeing that she was still trembling.

"I'll be fine, thank you, both of you," Judy replied, her voice a little stronger, more in control. "I think I'll go up and have a soak in the tub, try to relax a little. Thank you," she said again, this time with a smile as she packed away her needlework.

"We're going to watch TV for a while, we'll be down here if you need us, ok?" Quinn said to Judy, hugging her mom as she passed.

They both watched Judy walk up the stairs, her head down, looking nervous and defeated. "He's an asshole," Puck muttered under his breath to Quinn. "Like my dad. Total assholes, both of them, they don't know what they're missing," he told Quinn. "I'm never going to be like that. I don't ever want to miss a moment, not with you, not with our baby," he promised. "I'm here for both of you, you're stuck with me now," he added, pulling Quinn into his arms. Quinn hugged Puck as his arms closed around her. She felt more sure of them together in this moment than she ever had before.

They went back to the den and settled down on the couch together, Puck lay behind Quinn, to watch The Tourist. Quinn fell asleep before the end of it. Puck watched it and felt justified that he had called the ending when the movie was only part way through. He did not think it was important enough to wake Quinn up though. He caught sight of the time and wondered if waking her at all would be a good idea. He managed to get out from under her and then picked her up to carry her upstairs.

Puck got Quinn settled into bed then went to knock on Judy's door. She answered quickly. "Is everything alright?" Judy asked. "It's not Quinn is it? Nothings wrong, is it?"

"No, no, everything's fine," Puck assured Judy. "Quinn fell asleep, I just put her to bed but I don't know the alarm code, Quinn's always set it when I've stayed before," he explained. "We're all locked up down there, it's just the alarm that needs setting," he said again.

Judy went down with Puck and showed him the code to set then unset the alarm system. Puck reset it following her instructions then they both went back upstairs. Quinn stirred when Puck went into their room. "Time s'it?" she asked sleepily.

"Just after ten," Puck replied with a whisper. "You fell asleep so I carried you up here," he explained. "Me big strong man, ugg," Puck grunted.

"Well, Captain Caveman," Quinn's whisper was accompanied by a giggle. "This little cave girl is feeling very, very horny. Want to come over here and learn how to light my fire?" she asked, stretching, bowing her body towards Puck.

"I think Captain Caveman has a friend to show you," Puck grinned. "I'd like to introduce you to Puckasaurus, wanna shake hands?" he asked, placing her hand on his crotch. "You'll have to unzip me," Puck advised Quinn. "I don't know how to do it, zips haven't been invented yet. Ugg," he said again with a wink. He sighed when Quinn played along. Then moaned when Quinn decided that 'shaking hands' was far too formal an approach when meeting something as impressive as Puckasaurus. Quinn smirked at the tremor that shook Puck's body when she gave Puckasaurus a very long 'kiss' of welcome.

"I still think that guy is frowning at us," Puck complained later. "Can't we turn him round to face the wall?" he asked.

"It's not 'that guy'" Quinn sighed. "It's Jesus," she informed Puck, even though she knew that he knew it already. "He was born a Jew, you know," she threw Puck's often-said phrase back at him. "And as long as what we do here is done out of love, he's cool with it," she insisted.

"It doesn't _look_ like he's cool with it," Puck grumbled, looking up from the pillows, staring straight at the face staring back at him. "Look at him. Those eyes, they follow you everywhere. He looks like he's perving and digging on my girl," he added. "Or trying to get a squint at my junk," he muttered.

"Will you shut up and go to sleep if I take it down?" Quinn asked, sighing.

"Yes," Puck answered, sounding like a satisfied five year old. He knew she'd take it down eventually. "Want to hear my joke?" Puck asked as Quinn started to climb out of bed. He got up to take the picture off the wall himself, he didn't want Quinn either climbing to do it or stretching up that high to do it. Plus the picture was kind of heavy.

"Go on then," Quinn replied, watching the painting of Jesus leaving her wall for the first time since…ever she could remember.

"Two nuns driving along the freeway, a vampire jumps out in front of them, one nun says to the other, 'Show him your cross', the other nun leans out of the window and screams "Get out of the way, fuck face," Puck erupted into a fit of laughter when he'd finished. That was his very favourite joke ever. He was impressed with himself that it had a Christian reference.

Quinn gave Puck the look that told him if she were a saint then he'd be trying her patience right now.

"Show him _your_ cross, not show him _you are_ cross," Puck explained, waiting for Quinn to laugh. "No?" he asked, bemused by her lack of understanding.

"I got it," Quinn replied, still not amused.

"At least you slept through your sicky phase tonight," Puck said suddenly, changing the subject.

"That's right, I did. Cool," Quinn replied with a smile. She got back into bed, Puck got in at the other side of her. He snuggled right up to her back, pulling her in close to him. Puck's hand wandered down to rest on her stomach. Quinn looked over her shoulder at him. "OB appointment on Friday," she reminded him. "Ready for all that again?" she asked.

"Yeah," Puck replied, kissing the tender skin just where her neck joined her shoulder. "I hope they've got some better toys to play with, the ones there last time were all for babies," he teased. Quinn crossed her eyes and said nothing.

Sunday morning sickness hit Quinn with a vengeance. Puck came awake to the dulcet tones of Quinn throwing up. He dived out of bed, still a little disoriented but managed to get into the bathroom without any major mishap. There was a minor mishap in the form of stubbed toes, but he could deal with that.

"Want some dry toast?" Puck asked, wincing as a fresh wave of nausea rolled through Quinn. He could feel her shoulders shake and shudder, feel her tensing and relaxing as each wave left her more and more drained.

"Mngh," Quinn replied, her head hanging over the toilet, supported by her arm crossed over the back of the toilet seat. She tried to nod but that made her even sicker.

"I have no idea if that was yes or no so I'm just going to go make some anyway, ok?" Puck asked, getting up from the bathroom floor.

Puck hurriedly pulled on shorts and jogged down the stairs. He heard music coming from the kitchen so assumed that Judy was there already. He pulled up short when he was confronted with a strange blond woman.

"Arrgghhhh," the strange woman screamed. Puck turned as he heard footsteps behind him and saw a large guy bearing down on him.

"Woah," he cried, getting into self-defence mode. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded, stepping back out of the kitchen, glancing left and right to try to identify a weapon of some sort.

"I'm Orla, who the hell are _you_?" the woman shouted.

"Oh, Quinn's sister?" Puck stated and questioned at the same time. He stood up straight and went back into the kitchen to introduce himself properly. "Puck. Noah Puckerman," he said, introducing himself, holding his hand out to shake hers.

"The baby daddy?" Orla asked, her eyebrow sliding up, identical to the move he'd seen Quinn do a million times before.

"Yeah," Puck smiled. "The baby daddy," he agreed, nodding.

"Where's my sister?" Orla demanded. "And my mother?"

"Quinn's upstairs puking and I've no idea where Judy is," Puck replied. "I thought she was in here when I came down and heard the music on. Maybe she's gone to church?" he suggested.

"Hmm," Orla nodded, considering Puck's suggestion. "This is my husband, Dale," she said, making the introduction.

Puck glanced at the preppy looking guy off to his right. College dweeb, was Puck's immediate assessment. "Hi, I'm Puck," he said, offering his hand to Dale. Dale took it and shook it, still without comment. "I'm just going to get Quinn some toast, maybe it'll help her feel better," he explained. He got the bread and put it in to toast. He got a plate from the cupboard and waited for the toast to pop up. When it did, he put it on the plate and went to leave the kitchen.

"Aren't you going to put butter on that? Jam? Honey?" Orla made her suggestions.

"Nope, dry toast works best," Puck replied. "Or crackers. We're trying toast first today," he said as he jogged back up the stairs.

Quinn was still on the bathroom floor looking and feeling washed out when Puck got back in their room. "What took you so long?" she said, her voice husky, her throat sounding rough and scratchy.

"Your sister and her husband are down there," Puck informed Quinn. "Scared the hell out of me," he said with a grin. "I think I shocked a couple of years off her too," he added.

"Orla's here?" Quinn asked. "And Dale?" she added. "I didn't know they were coming to visit," she said, sounding quite excited. "Where's my toast?" she asked.

"On your nightstand," Puck replied, helping her to stand. He waited till Quinn had brushed her teeth and gone back into the bedroom to close the door behind her and use the bathroom. When he was washing his hands, he heard voices. "Crap," he muttered to himself. "There goes my plan for a lazy Sunday morning in bed," he grumbled.

"And you've already met Puck," Quinn said with a smile to her sister as Puck came out of the bathroom into the bedroom. Both girls were sat on the bed, Quinn with her head on her sister's shoulder munching her toast, both of them propped up by the pillows.

"You better take good care of my sister," Orla ordered. "Better care than you take of contraception anyway," she added with a smirk.

"I will," Puck promised with a smile at Quinn. "I'll take good care of both of them," he added. And he meant every word.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: AU version of Season 3. Vaguely recognisable Glee references, the rest is all made up. I don't have any claim on the bits that you know are Glee.**

**A/N: Not quite a new direction, just a little shift….**

"Would you like me to call in for you both?" Judy asked on Monday morning. "I'm assuming that you won't be going to school without Quinn," she added looking at Puck over the phone in her hand, over Quinn's back.

Puck looked up from the bathroom floor, his hand rubbing soothing, comforting circles on Quinn's back as she retched again and again. "Yes please," he answered. "Would you also be able to give the secretary my change of address?" he asked.

"I can try, just a second," Judy said as her call was answered. "Yes, good morning. This is Mrs Fabray. My daughter, Quinn Fabray will be arriving a little late this morning, she's unwell. May I also report that Noah Puckerman will be late too?" Judy waited for the secretary to make her notes. "Thank you, also Noah's records need to be updated, he has a new address," she listened again. "Thank you, I'll tell him to do that. Thank you," Judy said then hung up. "You have to fill in a card when you get to school, Noah," she told him.

"Thanks," Puck replied. "Feeling any better yet?" he asked Quinn.

"No," Quinn groaned then threw up again. "I hate you," she told Puck. "Why can't _you_ get the morning sickness?" she wailed.

"Aww, babe," Puck replied, trying to stem the smile. "If I could do this for you, I would," he tried to sound sincere but failed spectacularly.

Quinn turned her head slightly to look up at Puck, aware that her mom was still behind her in the doorway, watching with concerned eyes. The look Quinn gave him spoke a thousand words, Puck could read 'get yourself fucked Puckerman' in those eyes and couldn't help but grin at her.

They eventually got to school thirty minutes late. Puck held Quinn's hand as they walked to the office to report themselves present.

"Ahh, Mr Puckerman," Principal Figgins said the second he saw him. "The very person. Miss Fabray, you may be required also, to give your version of events," he told them. "My office, please," he said, his arm raised to direct them.

In Principal Figgins' office they found Shelby, Mr Schue and Coach Sylvester sat in front of the desk and a man they'd never seen before seated behind Principal Figgins' desk.

"Mr Sharp is from the Allen County Board of Education," Principal Figgins explained to Puck and Quinn. "He's here to investigate certain allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Ms Corcoran towards a student, namely you, Mr Puckerman," he told the gathered group.

"I'd like to hear from Ms Sylvester, first of all," Mr Sharp said, looking down at the paper in front of him. "You originally made the call reporting the…shall we say…indiscretion?" he said as he looked up and blinked behind glasses that magnified his dark, beady eyes.

Coach Sylvester looked just a little miffed to be outed as the whistleblower. "I overheard a student talking about it," Sue admitted through gritted teeth. "I felt it was my civic duty to report such a crime," she added, looking in disgust at Shelby. "A teacher has no right to have a relationship such as that with a student," she insisted.

"And we can all agree on that," Mr Sharp added, making notes. "Do you have any response to this…..Mr Puckerman?" he asked.

"I do not have an inappropriate relationship with Ms Corcoran," Puck stated without any emotion or inflection in his voice. "The 'relationship'" he said, using his fingers for air quotes, "if you could call it that, is that Ms Corcoran adopted our daughter and Ms Sylvester is well aware of this," he explained. _Everyone_ but Mr Sharp was already aware of that. "Is someone implying that there is a different relationship?" he asked, looking at Sue Sylvester with his eyebrow raised in question.

"And by 'our' you mean yourself and Ms Fabray, I assume?" Mr Sharp asked, noting Puck and Quinn's nods. "Is that the reason you were at Ms Corcoran's apartment on Saturday afternoon?" he asked, again looking at the paper in front of him.

"No," Puck replied with total honesty. "I was in the building on Saturday to clean the pool. That's my job, I run my own business, here," he said, leaning forward to pass Mr Sharp one of his business cards from his pocket. "'Puck's Pools', maybe you've heard of me?" Puck asked just a little cockily. "I sort of have a monopoly in the area," he said with a smirk.

"And did you see Ms Corcoran when you were in the building on Saturday?" Mr Sharp asked in a bored sounding voice. Mr Sharp held Puck's card between his fingers as he perused the information on it.

"No I did not," Puck answered truthfully.

"And do you have any proof of that? Any witnesses?" Mr Sharp asked, writing as he spoke.

"Well, Quinn was with me all day," Puck replied, "she came to all of my jobs with me. At Ms Corcoran's building we saw Mr Schue and Beth, but we didn't see Ms Corcoran," he told Mr Sharp, glad that he was able to answer at least some of the questions with total honesty, though in fairness, Mr Sharp hadn't asked if Puck had _spoken_ to Shelby on Saturday, just if he'd _seen_ her. Puck could feel how tense, nervous, Quinn was just from the hand under his on the arm of the chair. He could also hear her slightly erratic breathing.

"Who is Beth?" Mr Sharp asked, looking at the gathered people.

"Beth is my daughter," Shelby spoke up, smiling nicely to Mr Sharp. "Quinn and Noah are her birth parents," she explained with a nod and a smile towards them both. "I adopted Beth when she was a week old," she added.

"So you allow Ms Fabray and Mr Puckerman to see their birth daughter?" Mr Sharp asked.

"We are currently negotiating a structured access arrangement," Quinn spoke for all of them when Shelby didn't seem to be able to speak. "The thing is Mr Sharp, we are actually expecting another child," she said quietly, nodding to Puck, "and we would like there to be at least some contact between Beth and her sibling in the future, for them to have some sort of relationship," she added, seeing that Shelby, Puck and Mr Schue were all nodding in agreement.

Sue Sylvester scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Give me a break," she muttered under her breath. "Any more saccharine in here and I swear I'm going to sink into a diabetic coma," she grumbled. "Can't you tell when they're all bullshitting you?" she all but screamed at Mr Sharp. "They're all covering each others' asses," she shouted. "Oh come on. Get a grip here," Sue demanded. "He's the school sex shark," she yelled, pointing at Puck. "He'll screw anything," she informed Mr Sharp, "and he usually does. Even something as old as _that_," she sneered, pointing at Shelby.

"Mr Sharp," Puck said quietly, "May I say something?" he asked.

"Please do," Mr Sharp invited.

"I believe Miss Sylvester is telling you these stories because she approached me, then the rest of the football team, begging us to be sperm donors for her because she wants a child," Puck began, sitting forward in his seat as though sharing a confidence. "She told me she asked me first because of Beth, she said I had a proven track record. I'm not, according to Ms Sylvester, shooting blanks," he said with an embarrassed grin at Mr Sharp. "I refused of course," he revealed, sounding both embarrassed and ashamed. "Damn, I should have taken up acting," Puck thought to himself. "I know she also approached some of the male teachers, isn't that right Mr Schue?" Puck asked, looking at his teacher.

"Yes, it's true," Mr Schue replied, taking up Puck's story. "Sue approached me, among others, requesting a sperm donation. Obviously I refused, I mean, my fiancée was distraught at the mere thought," he said, taking hold of Shelby's hand, looking at her lovingly.

Mr Sharp looked down at the notes he'd made. He read through them silently, looking up on occasion to glance at the people in question. "Let me see if I understand this. You two had a child and gave it up and now you're having another, yes?" he asked Puck and Quinn. They nodded. "You adopted their baby and now he cleans the pool in your building, yes?" he asked Shelby. She nodded. "You're engaged to her?" he asked Mr Schue. Mr Schue smiled and nodded. "And you're just the jealous older woman trying to relive her youth by attempting pregnancy when your body must already be telling you you're far too old," he said to Sue. Sue Sylvester didn't nod. She stared. A scary narrow eyed stare. But she didn't deny it either. "Where do you fit into all of this?" Mr Sharp asked Principal Figgins.

"It's my office," Principal Figgins answered helplessly, as confused as Mr Sharp.

"As far as I can see," Mr Sharp said with a sigh, "there's no case to answer to. You're all free to go. Thank you for your time," he said, standing up. "Except you," he pointed at Sue. "Do you know the penalty for wasting the board's time?" he asked. Puck, Quinn, Shelby and Mr Schue didn't wait around to hear the answer.

"That could have gone so much worse," Mr Schue muttered when they all left the secretary's office. "Thank you, both of you for what you said in there," he added. "I think we do need to get together at lunchtime, all of us, we have some stuff to work through," he said, looking pointedly at Puck then Shelby.

"No problem, Mr Schue," Puck replied. "The choir room?" he asked. Mr Schue nodded. "We'll see you there," he said with a wave before turning away. Puck turned back a second later. "Crap," he muttered. "I didn't change my address, I'll go do it now," he said, kissing Quinn on the side of her head before leaving her and returning to the office.

"Yes Mr Puckerman?" the secretary said as Puck returned to her office. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Puck replied politely. "I have to fill in a card with my new address," he told her. "Do I get that from you?" he asked.

The secretary nodded and handed Puck the card to fill in. "Make sure you fill in all the boxes," she told Puck. When he handed the completed card back the secretary looked at the information he'd provided. "That address looks familiar," she said to herself. She recalled the call from Mrs Fabray this morning, she'd mentioned both her daughter and Noah Puckerman. She checked Quinn's address. "Interesting," she muttered. "Same address," she said with a nod. "Interesting," she said aloud, then looked round to see if anyone heard her.

Puck met Quinn at the door of the choir room at lunchtime. "How've you been this morning?" he asked, taking hold of her hand.

"Fine," Quinn answered. "I've had to fend off about a million questions," she said, rolling her eyes in disgust. "How has your day been so far?" she asked. "Has anyone mentioned the meeting this morning?" she added quietly as other students were passing.

"No," Puck replied. "Did anyone ask you anything?" he asked.

"Not about that," Quinn admitted. "Seems everyone already knows you moved into my house with me though," she told Puck.

"I might have put something about that on Facebook," Puck replied. "Sorry, I was bored in my class, I didn't think," he apologised.

"It's ok," Quinn murmured. "It's not like it's a lie or anything," she said, shrugging. "Makes sense of a few of the comments I've heard today."

"Who's been saying stuff?" Puck asked, wondering if he had to beat anyone up.

"No one interesting," Quinn replied quickly. "They haven't really said much, just that Finn must be devastated by recent events," she said, thinking about most of the comments. "Actually, now I think about it, just about everything that's been said, everything that I've overheard is probably directed at Finn," she finished with a frown. "We have to do something, help him in some way," she told Puck.

"Sure," Puck agreed, "what did you have in mind?" he asked, opening the choir room door. Puck glanced round. Mr Schue and Ms Corcoran hadn't yet arrived. He gave Quinn a smile, and then pulled a little on her hand. "I wonder if we have time," he murmured, flicking his eyes to the little sectioned off part of the choir room that served as Mr Schue's office.

"No," Quinn hissed, trying to look and sound scandalised at the same time as trying to hide her enthusiasm and her smile. She glanced over her shoulder, still no sign of Mr Schue or Ms Corcoran. They'd have time for something. A mind-blowing kiss at the very least.

Puck's head descended to the vee opening of Quinn's shirt, his hand ran under the shirt from the bottom, his lips and fingers meeting on her ultra sensitive nipple. He thrust one leg between hers, allowing Quinn to ride his thigh. Just by pinching and teasing, nibbling and sucking, by pressing his thigh rhythmically into her centre, Puck felt Quinn shudder and tremble in his arms. He felt, against his thigh, the instant that she imploded.

Puck stood up straight, adjusting himself in his pants, made sure his shirt covered his physical reaction, and then helped Quinn pull herself together. "Nice," Puck whispered in Quinn's ear as they got themselves settled in the seats on the front row to wait for Mr Schue. "I can't wait for payback," he gave his patented sexy half smile that made Quinn's breath hitch in her throat.

"Hi guys," Mr Schue breathed in a rush as he arrived in the choir room without Ms Corcoran. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long," he said to them.

"It's cool, Mr Schue," Puck replied, sounding just a touch bored. "What is it you want to discuss with us?" he asked, hoping to get the discussion up and running.

"Puck, I know everything," Mr Schue said with a sigh, "Shelby told me everything," he added, his lips tightening into a straight line.

"Then she also told you it was a mistake, right?" Puck asked. "Because it was, it was a big mistake," he repeated, gripping Quinn's hand.

Mr Schue nodded, looking at the floor. "I also know what's been happening between you two and Finn," he looked up at them and sighed, trying to find the words to tell them he wanted to help them.

"Mr Schue," Puck said quietly, gaining the teachers attention. "It's cool," he nodded and smiled. "Ok?" he asked. "We're happy about it now, we're together, we're doing this together," he said, smiling at Quinn, looking her in the eyes as he lifted their joined hands to kiss her knuckles. "And we're happy about you and Ms C. Ok?" he said, turning back to the teacher.

"The thing is," Mr Schuester put in, his hands scrunching in his hair. "I might have been a little forward this morning when I said 'fiancée'" he admitted. "Just a little ahead of myself," he frowned. "Not that I wouldn't want Shelby to be my fiancée, I would, I do but it's still early days in our relationship, we aren't in that place just yet. I hope we will be. I really hope we will be," he said, losing his train of thought.

"Mr Schue?" Quinn butted in to Mr Schue's thoughts.

"Yes Quinn?" Mr Schue looked at her expectantly.

"Why did you ask us to meet you here?" Quinn asked. "And will Ms Corcoran be joining us?" she added. Quinn really hoped Shelby would join them, she really hoped they would be able to work out a visiting plan, something, anything.

"No, Shelby got called home by the childminder," Mr Schue said.

"Is it Beth?" Puck asked, immediately alert, rising from his seat, ready to fly at a moment's notice.

"No, it's the childminder," Mr Schue reassured them. "She's picked something up, come down with something and had to leave, Shelby had to go home to Beth," he explained. "And Quinn, what you said in the office this morning, about Beth having a relationship with her sibling, for what it's worth, I think you're right, you're absolutely right. She should have a relationship with your baby. And with both of you," he said firmly. "And I intend to convince Shelby of that too. I know that she said in her letter to you both that she hadn't made any decisions about that yet, it's all we've discussed all weekend," he added. "Last night at least, she had sort of come up with a plan. I'd advise you to let her tell you in her own time, let her work out the details that suit her best, let her feel like she still has some sort of control," Mr Schue stopped abruptly, realising he'd given away far too much.

"While we're here Mr Schue," Puck said, changing the subject, "we can't stay late on Friday for the final rehearsal," he tried to look apologetic. "It's our first OB appointment, we can't miss it," he said, smiling at Quinn, "either of us," he said, with a wider smile.

"Ok, thanks for the info," Mr Schue nodded, mentally changing the schedule. "We'll have final rehearsal on Friday morning then," he said, throwing his arms up in the air, grinning. "Are you sure you're up to the dance routines, Quinn?" he asked.

"Of course," Quinn replied with a smile. "I'm fine Mr Schue," she insisted, "it's just a routine appointment but the first one is always a long one, lots of information to go over," she said, knowing from experience that she was right. Puck had yet to learn exactly what went on at a first appointment.

Shelby was out all week. Her childminder hadn't picked something up, she had apparently been picked up by INS. Shelby was furious. She thought it probably had something to do with Sue Sylvester but she had no proof as Sue told her on the phone a number of times. Despite Svetlana being a naturalised citizen, there seemed to be a delay in getting her released. Again, something that Shelby blamed on Sue Sylvester. Again, Sue insisted that she had no proof.

Friday morning was the final rehearsal for Sectionals. "Mr Schue," Rachel began, her tone not inviting anyone to argue with her. "I feel that we are sabotaging ourselves by having this rehearsal so early in the day. We need to have it at the end of school," she insisted.

"And as we've already explained a thousand times," Quinn replied, her tone both bored and exasperated, "we have an appointment straight after school. And you're still not getting the lead in any of the songs this time. Tina has it with ABC, Puck has it with Control and Finn, Puck and Blaine have it with Man in the Mirror. That's not going to change, Rachel. Deal with it," she ordered, glancing round for anyone else to have a similar argument. No one dare. Scary Quinn.

The rehearsal was so-so. There were a few people that Mr Schue thought didn't give a hundred percent. "This is it," he shouted at the team on stage. "This is your senior year, there are no more chances. If we want to win this thing you're going to have to do better than that," he said in disgust, shaking his head and walking away. "Way better than that," he muttered.

"He is right, you guys," Tina said, her face and voice full of emotion. "This _is_ it, this is what we've been working for, dreaming of for two years. This is our last chance," she ended sadly.

The next run through of their three numbers was much better. The dance routines worked well, everyone hit their mark and their cue. Perfect. "Now we just need to do that again tomorrow night," Mr Schue called from the back of the auditorium.

Puck and Quinn left school to go to their appointment. When they got there, things didn't go exactly according to plan.

"I thought I'd be seeing Dr Wu," Quinn said faintly, the hint of tears in her voice, her hand gripping Puck's in her lap.

"I'm sorry," Dr Harmon replied, fake smile in place. "Dr Wu is on sabbatical. He won't be back for a year. It's me or nothing in this practice," she said, her tone harsh.

"I can't stay here," Quinn whispered to Puck. "I don't want her to deliver our baby, she looks like Cruella De Ville," she added, looking back towards the scary looking doctor who was tapping her long red talons on the desk. "Not a _chance_ is she getting near me with _those_," Quinn insisted.

"Thank you for your time, Doctor," Puck said, standing up. "We'll have to see who else is available in Lima. We have to go with who we feel comfortable with," he shrugged. "I'm sure you can understand that," he added with a smile.

"Of course," Dr Harmon replied, looking and sounding extremely pissed off. "You could always try the Family Birth Centre at Lima Memorial," she offered.

"Good idea, thanks," Puck nodded on their way out of the room. "We seriously are not letting that woman deliver our baby," he agreed with Quinn.

Quinn sighed and fidgeted all the way home. When they pulled up outside the house Puck turned to Quinn. "What's wrong?" he asked. "So Dr Wu isn't available," he shrugged. "It's no biggie, we'll find another doctor. There's got to be more than one OB in Lima, surely," he added.

"And have you thought about the possibility of every one of Dr Wu's patients transferring to Dr Chin? What if he doesn't have space for another patient? And I didn't really like him before, that's why I went with Dr Wu. Dr Chin has loads of Bonsai trees everywhere," she grumbled with a shudder.

"Ok. We'll get online right now and check out the Family Birthing Centre, see what services are on offer there, see if it's something you could feel comfortable with," Puck suggested.

Quinn nodded in agreement. "We're home," she called out as she went in the door.

"Hello," Orla called back from upstairs. "We're up here, we're planning," she shouted, sounding quite excited.

"Oh God, planning what?" Quinn groaned, heading up the stairs, every step an effort.

"Planning the nursery," Judy replied with a satisfied sigh, looking round the guest room opposite Quinn's bedroom. The furniture had been cleared out, the walls had about twelve different blocks of colour painted on them in random places. "What do you think?" Judy asked, looking at both of them.

"I didn't think patchwork was in this year but hey, I'm a guy, what do I know," Puck said with a straight face.

Judy rolled her eyes, pursed her lips and pointedly ignored Puck's comment. "What do _you_ think, darling?" she asked Quinn. "Do any of the colours speak to you? I've tried them in different areas to get a feel for the colour at different times of the day, different lights. I must admit I rather like this yellow," she confided, walking to a set of colours near the window and pointing to a yellow square. "It's so much more calming than this yellow," she indicated another patch of yellow. "Or this one," she pointed at a third patch of yellow.

"They all look the same to me," Puck muttered behind Quinn.

"Me too," Dale said very quietly out of the corner of his mouth.

"Shit, dude," Puck breathed, his hand on his chest. "You scared the freakin' life out of me, I didn't know you were there," he told Dale. "Sorry Judy," he apologised belatedly, giving her a wave of his hand. Judy gave him 'the look'. "Crap," he muttered almost silently then gulped. Judy was even scarier than Scary Quinn when she did _that_ look.

"So how was your appointment, dear?" Judy asked brightly.

"Awful," Quinn pouted. "Dr Wu is away and won't be back for like, forever," she exaggerated. "The doctor running his practice is an evil witch with claws for nails, there's no way she is putting her hands anywhere near here, I can tell you that," she finished, pointing towards her nether regions, then nodding towards Puck. "He'll tell you, he saw them," she cried.

"About this long," Puck agreed, indicating about three inches beyond his index finger. "She did look pretty scary though," he admitted. "I wouldn't want her delivering our baby. Claws like that, she might have the poor thing's eye out," Puck exclaimed.

"One of my old girlfriends from high school is a midwife at the Family Birthing Centre," Orla told Quinn with a smile. "Zara Collins, do you remember her?" she asked. Quinn shook her head, concentrating. No, she couldn't remember any of Orla's friends, certainly not one called Zara. "No? Oh well, I can give her a call, see if she could at least drop by to speak to you, maybe set your mind at rest," Orla offered.

"Thanks Orla, that would be great," Quinn replied with a smile. "Are you going to work right now?" she turned and asked Puck.

Puck had arranged with his clients that he would do their pools on Friday evening this week, instead of Saturday afternoon because of Sectionals. There were only three of them booked in so he wouldn't be too long. "Yeah," he replied. "I better get going, I'll see you all later, ok?" he said, dropping as kiss on Quinn's lips.

"We'll wait till you get back, Noah," Judy called, "then we'll all have dinner together," she said with a smile. Judy was really enjoying having a loving, laughing family around her.

"Don't hold dinner for me," Puck advised. "It's Friday, I have to go see my mom and Nana," he reminded them. Judy looked blank. She knew he'd been to see his family a couple of times already this week but he'd had dinner with them when he came home. "It's the Sabbath," Puck explained, sounding almost like he was asking a question. "We have from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday," he reminded them. "Jewish? Sabbath? No?" he asked then rolled his eyes. "I have to go to Temple with my family, we eat after, I'll be home later," he sighed then kissed Quinn again. "Bye," he whispered against her lips.

Puck actually enjoyed the evening with his family, he wasn't even feeling as though he was being forced into going to Temple. The fact that he'd made a bargain with his mom was their secret. Naomi had given her son the choice. Temple with the family followed by dinner every Friday evening or Quinn finds out the truth. Simple. Puck chose Temple. He wasn't ready for Quinn to know what he'd done. Not yet. The possibility that he wouldn't live more than five minutes if she ever did find out was better than seventy-thirty. Not in Puck's favour, either. But Naomi was good at keeping secrets. When it suited her. And for now, this one suited her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: AU. Some recognisable Glee inclusion, some alterations, no ownership claimed or implied. No claim is made to the partial song at the end either, that is owned by other people too.**

**A/N: Sectionals….**

"What did you have for dinner?" Quinn asked, genuinely interested. She was laid on her stomach on her bed, her feet waving in the air, her head resting on her crossed arms. She watched Puck toe off his boots.

"The usual," Puck replied, "same sort of thing as we always have on Fridays, same as when you lived at my house."

"Oooh, I miss Friday nights at your mom's house," Quinn groaned, remembering some of the typical, traditional Sabbath meals that Naomi and Connie would make between them. "Your Nana's barbecue glazed chicken and roasted asparagus. Mmmm," she moaned, her face showing her pleasure, then groaned when Puck nodded. "What did you have for dessert?" she asked, pouting.

"Plum torte," Puck told her with a smile, knowing that would make her groan even more. Quinn had loved his mom's homemade plum torte. "I brought you some," he added, his smile growing even wider.

Quinn pushed up quickly onto her knees, her eyes wide with pleasure. "You did?" she asked, surprised, thrilled. "Thank you."

Puck slowly stripped off his clothes. "I'm sure bringing you food, your favourite food," he added, "qualifies for a much better 'thank you' than that," he said, stalking naked towards the bed.

"I'm sure that I can do something to show my appreciation," Quinn replied, her voice a little husky, getting into the spirit of things. She leaned forwards towards Puck, her lips and tongue connecting with his sculpted stomach then brushing lower. Puck sucked in a breath and held it, his head going back, his hips pushing forwards as he gave in to the pleasure of Quinn's mouth on him.

They both jumped a little when they heard the knock at the door. Quinn's head shot up abruptly, her hand stayed clasped around the hard hot length of him. "Quinn?" Orla called through the door. "Are you awake?" she asked.

Puck groaned and looked down at Quinn, his eyes crossed. "Fuck my life," he whispered, pouted and almost sobbed. Quinn swirled her tongue across the tip, looking up into his eyes. "Just a second," he called over his shoulder then bent to give Quinn a lingering kiss. He pulled away and bent to pick up his clothes, heading to the bathroom. "This is just an intermission," he whispered over his shoulder to Quinn. "We are definitely continuing this later," he insisted.

"Damn straight," Quinn replied with a smile. "Come in, Orla," she called to the door.

Orla opened the door and poked her head through the gap. "I didn't disturb you did I? Were you sleeping?" she asked.

"No, I wasn't asleep," Quinn replied, running a finger across her bottom lip, to make sure there wasn't anything to give away what she had just been doing. "Come on in," she invited.

"I just spoke to Zara," Orla informed her sister. "She'd love to meet with you both, here's her number," she said, handing Quinn a piece of paper.

"Thank you," Quinn replied, smiling at Orla but wishing she would go. "Was that all?" she asked. Orla sat on the bed beside her sister. Quinn wished she hadn't asked.

"Zara can take care of you from start to finish," Orla advised. "She a CNM, a Certified Nurse Midwife, she is qualified to oversee all of your prenatal care, your labour, delivery and your postnatal care. It's a full service," she explained.

"I'd like to meet with her," Quinn agreed. "And if she can be involved in every aspect of the pregnancy that would be so nice. I like that. Thank you, Orla," she said, reaching to kiss her sister's cheek.

Puck came out of the bathroom, he'd showered and pulled his jeans back on. "Ready for your dessert now?" he asked Quinn, the slightest touch of a smile on his lips. At Quinn's nod, he went down to the kitchen. "Hey," Puck said to Dale when he entered.

Dale was sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen scrolling through things on his ipad, sipping from a bottle of beer. "Hi," he replied, his eyes still on his ipad.

Puck opened the fridge to find the box he'd put in there when he'd come home. He didn't see it straight away. Puck shifted a few things about. He still didn't see it. "Crap," Puck muttered to himself. "I'm sure I put it in there," he said aloud. "You haven't seen a box with a piece of plum cake in it, have you?" he asked Dale. "I brought it from my mom's for Quinn, she loves that stuff," Puck told him.

"Oh," Dale muttered quietly. "That was for Quinn?" he said with a wince. "I'm sorry. It was lovely, by the way," he added with a smile.

"Aww crap," Puck moaned, closing the fridge. "You ate Quinn's dessert. She's going to kill you. And I'm not going to lift a finger to stop her," he said. Puck ran upstairs to the bedroom. "Bad news, babe," he sighed as he walked through the door. "Dale ate your cake," he announced. He almost tripped up when he looked up to meet Quinn's eyes. "I hope that's not dependent on you getting your dessert," he said with a smile, nodding at her at how she had posed, displayed herself on the bed for him, for his pleasure.

"No," Quinn said, trying to pretend disinterest. She squealed with laughter a few seconds later when Puck launched himself at her, rolling her over on the bed till she ended up on top of him. Laughter soon became other sounds, sighs, moans that lasted far into the night.

The beep of Puck's alarm clock on Saturday morning made them both groan. Quinn reached for the crackers and slowly nibbled two. Puck got up and showered ready to go clean some pools.

"How are you this morning?" he asked, coming to sit beside her on the bed, to pull his boots on.

"Queasy," Quinn answered, swallowing hard.

Puck bent to kiss her head. "I have to go. I'll be back round lunch time," he said. "I'll call in at my mom's when I'm done, see if I can liberate another piece of cake for you," he told Quinn, grinning at her. "See you later," he said, standing up.

Judy had made scrambled eggs for Puck. He ate hurriedly, thanking her before he left the house. After he'd finished the two pools on his list for today and called at the Cromer's to do some yard work, Puck pulled up at his mom's house.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked when he walked in the door. "You've only been gone a week, I don't miss you. I miss your Xbox, but I don't miss you," she said. "And you were here yesterday," she muttered under her breath.

"Thanks Sarah," Puck replied, "such a nice thing for a sister to say to her big brother," he said with a sarcastic smile, on his way past the lounge to the kitchen. Sarah shrugged and turned back to her magazine. "Hey Nana," Puck greeted Connie, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Is there any dessert left from last night?" he asked. "Quinn's brother-in-law ate the piece I took for her," he explained.

"Of course," Connie replied with a smile, "there's always plenty left over, you know that. It tastes better the next day too," she added. Connie got up and cut a piece for Puck to take with him. "Are you staying for lunch?" she asked.

"No, Quinn called me earlier," he answered. "Zara, the midwife she wants to meet is coming by this afternoon for an initial visit," he said. "Maybe it's the way to go, she didn't like Dr Chin when she met him before, and Dr Harmon is absolutely out of the question. She needs someone she can feel comfortable with," he said with a shrug. "Hopefully this Zara is it."

"Absolutely you do," agreed Connie. "If you've got to have someone poking about down there, you have to feel comfortable with them," she stated.

"Nana," Puck cried, embarrassed. "You can't say stuff like that," he insisted.

"She must feel comfortable with you," Connie added, trying not to laugh at her grandson's face. "Don't tell me _you_ don't poke about down there," she added, taking great delight in seeing the heat invade his cheeks. "Get out of here," she laughed. "Go home to your girlfriend, meet the midwife, and be supportive. I'll see you tonight at your competition," she called as Puck went to the door. "Don't forget Quinn's cake," she shouted.

Puck trudged back to the kitchen and picked up the box. "Thanks Nana," he said, kissing her cheek again. "See you later. Bye, Monster," he called to Sarah as he passed the lounge. Sarah pulled a face at him.

"Cake," Puck announced, dropping a kiss on Quinn's upturned lips. She was sat in the kitchen at the island with her mom and sister. They were chatting about all things female. Dale didn't seem to be anywhere about. "Where's Dale?" he asked, his hand still on the box. "Don't let this out of your sight," he warned Quinn. "You don't know what I had to listen to, to get this for you. I deserve a medal," he told her solemnly.

"Aww, thank you," Quinn said with a smile. "And you'll get your reward in heaven," she finished with a nod.

"I hope it lasts longer than seven minutes," he grinned. Quinn nudged his arm, rolling her eyes at that comment.

Dale walked back into the kitchen. "Is it safe in here now?" he asked. "You've stopped all the 'lady bits' talk?" he said, pulling a face. "Is that for me?" he grinned, spying the box under Puck's hand. "Cool, whoever made it, wow, amazing," he said, his voice and expression dramatic, over acted.

"I'll tell my mom you said so and no, this piece belongs to Quinn," Puck replied with a laugh. "Quick, take it, take it," he urged Quinn as Dale pretended to scrabble for it.

"Boys, boys," Judy sighed with mock exasperation. "You girls were always so much better behaved," she told her daughters, smiling at them. "You never fought over dessert," she told them proudly.

"Hey, I've _seen _her at three in the morning, sat in front of the fridge with it open, scarfing down anything she can get her hands on," Puck nodded, pointing at Quinn, reminding her of her craving binges when she was pregnant before. "A word of advice Judy," he added. "Get a lock put on it," he pointed at the fridge, "'cos once she starts, phew," he blew out a breath, shaking his head.

"I wasn't _that_ bad," Quinn pouted.

"Oh really?" Puck asked, his eyebrows hiked right up, his face showing his surprise. "You bit my hand when I tried to get milk for my cereal," he teased. Quinn crossed her eyes and pulled a face at Puck, her family all laughing, whether at Quinn or at their conversation, it didn't matter. They were all happy.

"Are you going to shower and change?" Quinn asked, changing the subject. "Zara will be here soon," she reminded him.

"Yep," Puck replied, "I'm going now." He jogged upstairs and was soon back down and in the kitchen chatting with them all.

Zara arrived on time. She spent the first hour finding out, from Quinn mainly, what their hopes and expectations were for the pregnancy and for the birth. The only thing that Quinn could say with any certainty was that she did not want it to be the same sort of experience that she'd had before. She did not want Puck to stand back as he had when Beth was being born, she wanted him to be more involved.

"I can do that," Puck agreed. "I just felt helpless before, everybody knew what they were doing and I was just stuck there and told to keep out of the way. So I did," he explained.

"And what would you hope the experience will be, Noah?" Zara asked.

"Well, I hope I don't get told I suck about a million times," Puck answered with a half grin at Quinn. "It's true, the only time you even acknowledged I was in the delivery room with you was to tell me I sucked. I felt bad enough, I didn't need you reminding me of it," he pouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Quinn replied, brightly, not even trying to hide her sarcasm. "You stood there, like a statue, not even giving me your hand to hold while I pushed a baby out of my body. But we digress," she announced, shifting in her seat a little. "This isn't about last time, this is about now, what we want from Zara, what we want for the whole of the pregnancy, the labour and the delivery," she turned back to Zara. "I know I want it to be different, totally different. It was so clinical, no love, it was just…..production line stuff, like, wham, bam, you're done, next," she explained.

"I agree with that," Puck nodded. "Can we visit the birthing centre, see where the baby will be born?" he asked. He'd had a look online when he was at his mom's house after Temple. He didn't want to be caught out again, he wanted Quinn to know he was stepping up totally, that he was her support, that she could trust him, rely on him.

"Of course," Zara said with a smile. "We also offer home births too, if that's what you want and if there aren't any contraindications," she added.

Quinn looked at Puck, he saw the interest in her eyes. "That's something we'll talk about," he told Zara.

Once the initial interview with Zara was out of the way, she went with Quinn to their bedroom to conduct a few tests and an examination. "You are absolutely certain about your dates?" she asked Quinn with a smile.

"Mmm," Quinn nodded. "Do you need Puck in here for anything?" she asked.

"Yes, just a couple of things," she answered picking up her paperwork again, making a few notes.

Quinn went to the door and called to Puck. She didn't realise he was waiting just along the hall. "Oh, there you are," she smiled in surprise. "Can you come in a minute? Zara just has a few other things for us," she told him, kissing his cheek.

"Your due date is the fifth of July, give or take," Zara informed them with a smile. "You are very healthy, your diet is good, your weight is excellent and you already do yoga. Carry on with that, we do hold a prenatal yoga class at the birthing centre, it's very good for helping you to control your breathing. I would recommend you both attend the prenatal classes. We'll do your initial ultrasound when you come to the birthing centre for your next appointment. We'll schedule appointments for every four weeks till your twenty-eighth week, then it'll be every two weeks till you're thirty-six weeks and then your appointments will be weekly until delivery. Here is a set of guidelines we have to follow if you do choose a home birth, they're strict but necessary and I look forward to seeing you both in four weeks," she finished, smiling brightly as she handed Quinn a brochure containing all the information she would need to make an informed choice.

"Cool," Puck muttered, not knowing what else to say. He did like this woman, she seemed bright and breezy, full of life and joy, total opposite of the dark and depressing doctor they had met yesterday. And if he were totally honest, he'd prefer their baby to be born into a relaxed, happy atmosphere than into the clinical, sterile atmosphere that Beth had been born into. Plus he'd always felt like an ass for not giving Quinn the support she'd so badly needed while labouring to bring Beth into the world, but he just hadn't known how to do it, how to be a part of it. He really would go with her to all the prenatal classes this time, he'd watch the videos, meet the moms. He'd do anything, everything he could to support Quinn and their baby. Even if it made him a wuss.

For only the second time in thirty years, William McKinley High School had been selected to host the Western Ohio Sectional of the National Show Choir competition. New Directions felt this was the best omen that they could possibly hope for. They all felt comfortable, at home on that particular stage and surely, it had to give them a huge advantage.

"Ok guys," Mr Schue called to his team as they finished their warm up in the choir room. "Are we ready?" he asked, looking round at them all. "Let's do this," he shouted, to the cheers of New Directions.

In position on stage Quinn could see beyond the footlights, see some of the people in the audience. Her breath caught in her throat, she glanced to her left. Yes, Puck had seen them too. They couldn't afford for this to throw them off their game.

Tina sang ABC like she'd been born to it. The dance routine, made to look like an old Motown routine was fab-u-lous. Brittany and Mike had worked extra hard on it. On all the routines actually. That was the thing that New Directions had over the other teams. They weren't just a group of kids singing together, they were all friends too, they knew everything about each other, their strengths and their weaknesses and tailor made their performances to fit them all.

Quinn started the second number with a speaking part. She wandered in and out of her silent, unmoving teammates as she played her part. The second Quinn stopped, Puck stepped up to his mark and on cue sang the song. In waves, the group began the dance sequence. They looked stunning. The black and white costumes flattering every one of them.

The lights went out before the start of their third number. Finn's clear voice began the song in the darkness. As he reached his mark and stopped in his spotlight, Puck began his part and joined him in the next spotlight, Artie came next, then Blaine then Sam. The five of them sang the first run of the chorus. Puck caught sight Quinn out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but smirk just the tiniest bit. He knew she would know that he meant it. He really was starting with the man in the mirror and he was changing everything about that man. All the bad things, the not so good stuff anyway.

At the end of their performance, New Directions lined up along the front of the stage. They took their bow and accepted their applause. Quinn, after receiving a hug from Finn, pushed past and walked to Puck who was stood at the very end of the row. She smiled up at him for a split second before putting her arms round him and hugging herself in to his chest. Puck smiled and hugged her back.

"Did you see who's out there?" Puck managed to whisper to Quinn. He felt her nod. They'd both seen Shelby and Beth in the audience.

New Directions left the stage to tumultuous applause. In the choir room, they were ecstatic, fizzing, excited. All of them, they knew it, it had been an amazing performance. The judges had to have seen that. The other teams surely had. One of the teams had already congratulated New Directions on their win. And the results hadn't even been announced yet.

"You were amazing out there," Shelby's quiet voice surprised Quinn. She spun round to look at Ms Corcoran.

"Thank you," Quinn replied, breathlessly. Her eyes weren't on Shelby but on the child in Shelby's arms.

"Can I have a word with you? Both of you?" Shelby asked, her glance seeking out Mr Schue with just the hint of a blush and a smile.

Puck and Quinn followed Shelby and Beth to Mr Schue's office. Puck closed the door behind them, shutting out some of the noise from the choir room. He winked at Quinn, reminding her of Monday lunchtime and the feelings she'd had in this office then.

"I won't beat about the bush with this," Shelby began, cuddling Beth close to her. "I have thought long and hard over this and I have decided that you're right. On Monday, what you said to Mr Sharp was right," she said with a sad smile at Quinn. "Beth deserves to know you both, know who you are, before it's too late. I lost that chance with Rachel and I can never get it back, I'm not going to do that to you. So," Shelby drew in a breath then blew it out, she was obviously very nervous and emotional. "I have come up with a visitation plan. Like I said in the letter though, I'm not comfortable about it being unsupervised. I know you're pregnant now Quinn, so maybe things have changed for you, but they haven't for me," she explained hurriedly.

"No, sure, I understand," Quinn stuttered, her eyes filled with tears, Puck's arm around her back kept her from trembling too hard.

"You ok?" Puck whispered, looking down at Quinn, smiling. Quinn nodded.

"So, what I've worked out is this," Shelby said, gaining their full attention again. "The second Sunday of every month, initially in my apartment with Will there to supervise, I won't be around," she explained. "I think it'd be too hard to watch her with you," she said to Quinn, finally allowing the tears to fall, the sob to break free. "That's something I have to work on, I want us all to be comfortable with each other, natural with each other. I think that's what would be the best situation for Beth. I'm sure she would pick up on any tension or discomfort between us and I really don't want that," she finished, a little stronger. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked Quinn, a tight smile on her face.

Quinn couldn't speak, she nodded, but she couldn't talk. She took Beth into her arms and hugged her.

Puck hugged both of them, his cheek resting on Quinn's head. "Thank you," he said almost silently to Shelby. She nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, tomorrow is the second Sunday of November," Shelby reminded them. "What time would you like to come over?" she asked, trying desperately to stem the tears. Shelby felt a lot of relief now that she'd shared this with Puck and Quinn. She felt that she was doing the right thing. And maybe it wouldn't be too long till she felt confident enough to include their families. But baby steps first.

"One?" Puck asked, looking to Quinn for her answer. Quinn nodded, sniffing Beth's head. She laughed, a strange sound through so many tears, but a good sound.

"Ok," Shelby nodded. She held her arms out to take her baby back. "We'll say three hours to begin with and we'll play it by ear. Ok?" she asked, both Puck and Quinn nodded. "Right," Shelby let out a shaky breath, "we'll see you at one tomorrow, won't we angel? And I think Will is looking for you," she said, nodding towards the choir room and their curious classmates.

On stage, New Directions waited along with the other two teams in the Sectional, for the results to be announced. They weren't kept waiting long. New Directions were named the winners. Next stop, Regionals.

The team and all of their families celebrated at Breadstix. The laughter and joy reverberated around the restaurant, other patrons couldn't help but be entertained by the impromptu show that New Directions put on, each of them throwing song choices and suggestions out there. When some of the parents joined in to sing with their kids, some of them believing they rivaled Tom Jones, they knew it was time to go home. But they'd all had a really, really good time. Except for one person. He'd seemed even more subdued than he had throughout the last week. Something that didn't go unnoticed by at least one person.

Quinn trembled as she knocked on Shelby's apartment door. Puck stood slightly behind her, his breath wasn't as even as he was trying to pretend.

Mr Schue opened the door and smiled at the young couple. "Welcome," he said, "come on in, we're playing with play-doh," he informed them.

Quinn knelt on the floor beside Beth. Beth stood at the low table in front of the couch, pressing pieces of coloured doh into plastic shapes. She smiled and chatted nonsense to Puck, wrinkling up her nose and grinning at him. Quinn was barely breathing at her daughter's side, trying to get up the nerve to interact with her. Yesterday she'd held her and when she'd gone to bed last night Quinn could swear she could still feel Beth in her arms, could still smell her sweetness.

It took about an hour for Beth to include Quinn in her chattering. Quinn didn't try overmuch, she didn't want to overwhelm Beth. She just knelt quietly at Beth's side, playing with the play-doh, making shapes and things for Beth to play with. Beth just naturally turned to her side, including Quinn, taking things from Quinn.

Will left them for a few minutes, to bring juice for Beth, milk for Quinn and coffee for Puck.

"Hey," Puck said softly, nodding to Quinn. "Having a good time?" he asked, smiling and turning his attention back to Beth. "Here, look at this," he showed Beth a giraffe he'd modeled for her. "Like that?" he asked her. Beth grinned up at Puck, mumbling nonsense at him.

"How are we doing in here?" Mr Schue asked, bringing the drinks through from the kitchen. "Here you go," he smiled at Beth, handing her a sippy cup. Beth said a word, it sounded a little like she'd said 'cuckoo'. "That's her version of thank you," Mr Schue grinned. "I kinda like it," he shrugged.

The afternoon passed by in a blur. At three, when Beth got sleepy, Quinn decided that it was time for them to go. "I know we've only stayed for two hours," she said to Mr Schue, "but I don't want to disturb Beth's routine. Better we leave early than disrupt her life too much," she said, swallowing hard. Puck, as much as he wanted to stay longer with Beth, agreed. Better to show Shelby and Mr Schue that they were being responsible, mature and understanding.

"How did it go?" Judy asked, desperate to hear about the baby girl she hadn't seen since she was two days old.

"Great," Quinn nodded with a smile, "it was great, we played with play-doh all afternoon, making models with Beth. We left early because she got sleepy. Maybe next time we should have a morning visit, sort of bridge lunch?" she said, looking at Puck. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Puck agreed. He liked that idea, they'd be able to spend the full three hours with her that way and she'd still be able to have her nap without her routine getting messed up.

On Monday at school, Puck and Quinn called for a secret meeting of the Glee club. The only person they didn't invite was Finn. Quinn approached Mr Schue with their idea. He totally approved their song choice.

"We are a family, aren't we?" Mr Schue smiled at Quinn. "We take care of our own," he nodded. "Choir room or auditorium?" he asked.

"Auditorium I think," Quinn replied after a few minutes consideration. "Could you get Finn there for us?" she asked.

"I'm sure I can think of something," Mr Schue assured Quinn.

"What are we doing here?" Finn asked Mr Schue a little nervously, looking round at the darkened auditorium. "Where is everyone? Isn't class about to start? Is this some sort of intervention, Mr Shue?" he asked. "Because, really, I'm ok," Finn tried to assure his teacher.

"Your friends have something they'd like to say to you," Mr Schue said with a smile. As the lights came on, the band began to play and New Directions began to sing, Puck taking the lead, the rest of the group bringing in the harmonies:

"The road is long,  
With many a winding turn,  
That leads us to who knows where,  
Who knows where,  
But I'm strong,  
Strong enough to carry him,  
He ain't heavy,  
He's my brother…"

At the end of the song, Finn hauled himself up onto the stage and found himself in the middle of a hugging, laughing, crying group of the very best friends in the whole world. He knew that he was accepted for who he was, not rejected for what he was. He felt at peace, he felt loved, and after both Quinn and Puck hugged him, Finn felt forgiven.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: AU. No claim, no blame.**

**A/N: Some people find the strangest ways of supplementing their income. Here's a couple of ideas…. (*see note at end of chapter)**

Thanksgiving was one of the best that either Puck or Quinn could remember. Naomi, Sarah and Connie spent the day at Dudley Road. Orla and Dale had returned to spend the weekend. Judy was in her element, cooking up a storm and loving every second of being the hostess without the hostility of her ex-husband.

"What are you thankful for?" Connie asked Sarah, as they went round the table in turn, each asking the person on their right.

"I'm thankful that my brother has moved out of the house and that you've moved in Nana," Sarah told Connie sweetly then turned and scowled at Puck. "Even though he stole my Xbox," she added, her face dark and moody.

"I did not steal your Xbox," Puck denied yet again. "I took my own Xbox when I left home to move in here," he said, making it clear to everyone else that he hadn't pinched his sister's stuff. "You never had an Xbox, you just played on mine," he reminded Sarah.

"But I played with it more than you so it felt like mine," Sarah pouted.

"Well, deal with it," Puck replied. "And anyway, it's Hanukkah in a few weeks, maybe someone might be nice to you. _If_ you behave and stop telling everyone I stole _your_ Xbox," he said, dangling the possibility of her own Xbox right there in front of her. Sarah sat back immediately and kept quiet.

When Puck was washing up after dinner, Naomi came into the kitchen to have a word with him. "I've already bought all of Sarah's Hanukkah gifts," she told her son quietly. "I can't afford to get her an Xbox," she said, wishing he hadn't mentioned anything about it to Sarah.

"I've already bought her one," Puck confided in his mom. "It's from me and Quinn. I know she's not Jewish but if I'm here and involved in their Christian Christmas thing, then it's only fair that she gets involved in Hanukkah with me, right?" he asked with a shrug.

"How can you afford an Xbox?" Naomi demanded with a hiss. "I thought you were saving every penny you get from cleaning pools for Quinn and the baby?" she asked, getting worried.

"I got…er…I got a bonus," Puck admitted, looking at his mom with expressive eyes. "From my _other_ job," he murmured quietly, checking first that no one was around.

"You're still doing that?" Naomi asked. "Have you told Quinn about it yet?" she whispered.

"No, she doesn't need to know," Puck whispered back. "And I thought you were keeping the secret so I'd come with you on Fridays?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I thought you'd have stopped by now," Naomi admitted. "How long can you carry on doing it?" she asked. "Surely you have to stop sometime," she insisted.

"No, I can carry on for forever if everything keeps working like it should," Puck replied with a self-satisfied grin. Naomi rolled her eyes and sighed. She left Puck to get on with it, passing Quinn on her way out of the kitchen.

"Everything all right in here?" Quinn asked brightly, sensing that something wasn't quite right between mother and son.

"Everything's fine," Puck replied with a smile. "Come to give me a hand?" he asked, using soapy hands to pull her up against him, his head descending for their lips to join.

Quinn's arms wound round Puck's neck, her sigh into his mouth set his body jangling. With their eyes closed, both so totally into each other, Puck blindly walked them round the kitchen, opening his eyes just a touch, as he lifted Quinn to sit her on the island, stepping between her thighs.

Puck's mouth drifted to Quinn's throat, finding the sensitive places, the spots that made her gasp and swallow, to try to catch her breath. His hands burrowed under her yellow tunic, gripping her hips and pulling her closer to the edge, feeling the heat from her, from the centre point where her thighs met, burn into his stomach, just above his belt buckle. Puck nudged against her, spreading her thighs wider. Quinn's hand took a sensuous, sliding journey from his neck, trailing over his shoulder, down his chest, her fingertips, nails scraping through his shirt to blaze individual trails on his abs. Quinn turned her hand the other way, her fingers pointing down and slowly, slowly allowed her fingertips to breach the waistband of Puck's jeans. She felt his quivering breath in, knew he was as affected as she was.

"Get a room," Dale called from the kitchen doorway. "You're making me blush," he shouted, covering his eyes, his head down as he came into the kitchen.

Puck and Quinn broke apart slightly, grinning at each other. "Did you come in here to help?" Puck asked, smiling over his shoulder.

"Not with _that_," Dale replied quickly. "You seemed to be doing fine on your own. Tell me when it's safe and I'll help with the washing up," he teased.

Quinn sighed and dropped a quick kiss on Puck's pouting lips. "Get me down from here Puckerman," she instructed. "We'll pick this up later when we won't be disturbed," she promised.

Quinn left Puck and Dale to it in the kitchen. "Why can't they use the everyday stuff for meals like this?" Puck grumbled to Dale. "Everyday stuff, rinse it off, shove it in the dishwasher, job done," he explained. "Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, well, Christmas for you guys," he corrected himself, "they always use the expensive stuff, the best china, silverware. Don't put that in the dishwasher, it's been in my family since the revolution," he mimicked in a silly voice. "It just makes more work," he shrugged. "What?" he asked, seeing Dale bent over trying not to laugh.

Puck was satisfied at least by how the day ended. After his family had left, Quinn had made quite a song and dance about feeling tired, yawning repeatedly, cuddling up to Puck on the couch till he'd asked her if she was ready to go to bed.

"Mmm," Quinn moaned sleepily, "yes, you can carry me up," she said, as though bestowing a great gift on him. She did laugh and see the funny side when he hoisted her over his shoulder, so did Dale and Orla. Judy not so much.

"Be careful with her," Judy cried, her fingers fluttering at her mouth.

"She's fine," Puck insisted from the top of the stairs. "See? I've put her down now, she's fine," he repeated, then dropped a kiss on the end of her nose. "Aren't you?" he asked.

"I'm fine mom, it was just a bit of fun," Quinn called down the stairs, seeing her mom's worried face. "Goodnight, we'll see you tomorrow," she said with a smile. Once in their room Quinn all but pounced on Puck.

"Eager tonight," Puck murmured appreciatively, his fingers delving straight under the edge of her panties, her leggings already dragged off and thrown across the room.

Quinn sucked in a breath, the sensation almost overwhelming her. "I've waited for this for four hours," she reminded Puck, "and I don't think I can hold on a minute more," she gasped, Puck's fingers giving her exactly what she wanted, needed, at the same time as his head bent to begin the slow journey that would take her nipples, her, to paradise.

Quinn managed, without disturbing Puck too much from his current missions, to undress him then herself, all without moving away from the door of the bedroom. "We have to get to the bed. Now," she insisted, swallowing trying to moisten her dry mouth. "This door really bangs when we, ah," she sucked in several breaths, without letting any go as Puck sent her higher and higher.

Through the fog of arousal, Quinn's words penetrated. Puck remembered the other week when he'd pushed her up against the door and slammed into her, rocking them both to a really quick climax. The door had been over adjusted at some point in it's history, so banging and rocking against it made it rattle in the frame like it was going to fall down. Luckily they'd been home alone that time. Neither of them was prepared to advertise to the rest of Quinn's family that they were actually doing what they probably thought they were doing, suspected they might be doing.

Puck stepped back taking Quinn with him, almost waltzing with her to their bed. They were both so ready, they didn't last long. They managed to have more fun when Quinn woke up at two in the morning to go to the bathroom.

"I can't get back to sleep," Quinn whispered loudly when she got back into bed. "I'm too….." she squealed as Puck's mouth cut her off, as he rolled her over.

"I hope the word you were looking for was horny," he whispered huskily against her lips, checking first to see how ready she was, pressing forward and entering her when he found that the answer was very, incredibly, so ready and so very, very horny.

Back at school the following week Puck thought it was about time for some equality.

"We always do Christmas carols," he grumbled. "When are we going to do some Hanukkah songs, sing something traditionally Jewish?" he asked. For once Rachel agreed with Puck. Puck pretended to make a note of it. "Rachel Berry," he intoned, writing in an exercise book, glancing with smiling eyes over the top of it at Rachel's expression, "agreed with Noah Puckerman," he drew out his name as he wrote the letters, "on November twenty-ninth at," he looked at his bare wrist, "ten forty."

"You're such a comedian Noah Puckerman," Rachel replied, rolling her eyes. "And it's not the first time I've agreed with you," she reminded him. "I remember once, we must have been oh, about six or seven, it was at Temple," she went on, looking as though she was really concentrating hard, "you said you were an idiot and I agreed with you," she finished triumphantly, making everyone else laugh too.

When they got home from school, Judy made them both a sandwich. They all sat at the island in the kitchen eating and chatting. "There's a letter for you, it's on the hall table," Judy told Puck, suddenly remembering it.

Puck frowned. He'd only changed his address at school so far, and he couldn't imagine Principal Figgins would be sending him a letter. His eyes opened wide with just a touch of fear when Quinn brought the envelope in, reading the postmark on it.

"Lima Cryobiology?" Quinn murmured, looking puzzled. "Why would a sperm bank be writing to you?" she asked.

"Erm, I don't know," Puck answered, his heart racing, even he could hear that he sounded nervous. He was sure Quinn and Judy would be able to hear his heart beating furiously. "How the hell did they get this address?" Puck wondered to himself as he swallowed hard.

Quinn looked at him, noting his heavy breathing, his unwillingness to look her in the eye, his nervousness. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him swallow repeatedly. She stood in silence, twirling the envelope between her fingers, watched Puck biting his lips, heard his breathing quicken, saw the pulse beating rapidly in his throat.

"What's going on, Puckerman?" she demanded, her tone flat. She still held the letter, saw Puck's fingers twitch although he didn't reach for it.

"Nothing," Puck said with a gulp, watching Quinn's fingers toy with the flap of the envelope, praying that she wouldn't give in to her curiosity. His palms were damp and he could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow and upper lip. He blew out a breath, a little huff, trying to make it sound like a laugh. He failed.

"Then you won't mind if I open it," Quinn replied, her voice a little harder, "will you?" she asked as her finger ripped open the flap.

The instant Quinn's finger slipped under the flap Puck reached for the envelope. "No," he shouted, attempting to take it from her. Quinn spun away and pulled out the letter. Puck sank back to the stool, defeated.

"Fifteen hundred dollars?" Quinn cried in disbelief. "They sent you a check for fifteen hundred dollars? Why?" she asked, her voice even more incredulous than before. Quinn glanced down, her eyes almost popping out on stalks as she read the attached letter. "Fertilisation bonus? Three?" she looked up at Puck her mouth open, her chin on her chest. "You better start talking asshole, and it better be fucking good. Sorry, mom," she shouted, her eyes never leaving Puck.

Puck sighed, his hands fell helplessly into his lap. "You're going to be pissed whatever I say," Puck told Quinn. He sighed again. Might as well be hung for the truth as a lie, he decided. "I've been going twice a week to make donations. I get paid a hundred dollars per donation and I get a five hundred dollar bonus for each successful fertilisation," he explained, his voice matter of fact, emotionless. "Now you know. Now you can scream at me," he offered.

Quinn didn't speak. Not for a long time. She just looked at Puck as if he'd crawled out from under a rock. Judy wisely left the kitchen, left them to it. She rang Naomi to speak to her.

"I told him he should tell Quinn himself," Naomi muttered to Judy. "I knew she'd find out eventually. Why did he even change his address with them?" she asked. "If he'd have left these details on his file then the letter would have come here," she thought aloud.

"Aren't you shocked by it, even disgusted by it a little?" Judy asked, completely baffled by Naomi's acceptance of her son's strange habits.

"Not really," Naomi admitted. "There's thousands of people out there who, for whatever reason want to have a child but need assistance, whether it's a man with a low sperm count, a woman on her own, whatever. The way I see it, he's performing a service," Naomi finished.

"I don't think Quinn is seeing it that way," Judy informed her. "In fact she's just told him he's a cash whore. Pleasant turn of phrase my daughter has at times, doesn't she?" she added, the hint of a smile in her tone.

"They'll be fine, they'll work it out," Naomi insisted, feeling confident that they would.

"You're a money grubbing cash whore," Quinn screamed at Puck, throwing the letter and the check at him. "What? You don't get enough at home? You have to go out and jerk off to...to...to what? Movies? Magazines? Or does a pretty little nurse do it for you?" she ended on a screech, picking up the apples from the fruit bowl in front of her and launching them at him too.

Puck dodged the apples, batting them aside, waiting for the right moment, waiting for Quinn's temper to drop just a touch to be able to explain to her, tell her why.

"Say something, you asshole," Quinn screeched, tears pouring down her face. Her shoulders slumped, the energy draining out of her, she sat heavily on the stool. "Were you ever going to tell me?" she asked, her voice much quieter.

Puck nodded. "Yes, I was always going to tell you, it's not a forever thing," he said, his voice calm, quiet, wondering if that qualified as the truth or a lie, he hadn't ever put a time limit on his donations so he could be telling the truth with that one. He took a deep breath and decided to start from the beginning. "When Shelby adopted Beth, it was because she couldn't have a child of her own, right? But before that, she'd had Rachel, and we all know Berry is more than happy to talk about the turkey baster method her dads used. Well, it got me thinking, there must be hundreds, thousands of women like Shelby out there, who want a baby but don't have anyone to get one with, so what do they do? They go to sperm banks. I did some research, found Lima Cryobiology, gave a sample and the rest as they say…." he shrugged.

"So what about when Sue asked you? Why did you refuse?" Quinn asked, calming a little more.

"She wanted it for free," Puck scoffed. "Not a chance, I get paid a hundred bucks a pop,"

"And you get a bonus for fertilisation?" Quinn asked, even though he'd already told her that he did. "How many bonuses have you received?" she asked, then wondered if she really wanted to know the answer.

"Ten, including those three," Puck admitted quietly, looking down at his hands, waiting for something else to come flying at him.

"So you've had five grand?" she asked, even more incredulously, "plus whatever you get for jerking off and you still drive round in that shitty, crappy truck?" she shouted. "What the hell do you do with it?" she demanded.

"It's all in savings," Puck admitted. "Well, almost all, I bought Sarah an Xbox from us for Hanukkah," he added with the hint of a laugh.

"Savings for what?" Quinn cried, her hands flying about, still not totally believing or understanding what she was hearing.

"Savings for the future, for _our _future, our baby, I don't know," Puck replied with a shrug. "What if maybe one day I wanted to go to college?" he said, deciding that might be a good place to start explaining things. "I couldn't ask my mom to support me, she couldn't afford it. This way, I can support myself through college if I choose to go," he finished, feeling a bit stupid, Quinn knew he'd never considered college before in his life.

"Is that why we never have sex on Sunday night or Monday morning? Or Wednesday night or Thursday morning?" Quinn asked. She'd sort of wondered about that before. He'd always been ready any time, any place, any day, till he'd come out of juvie, then he'd always held off at those times. She knew it wasn't a religious thing, nothing with Puck ever was. It made sense now. Store it up, give it to strangers. Quinn started crying at that thought. "So you have babies with ten other women," she realised.

"No," Puck denied. "I don't have babies with anyone, except for you," he corrected her. "Look at it like this, the second it leaves my body it doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Cryobiology, right?" he encouraged. "It isn't me they're picking from a catalogue, it's a number, it's someone with brown hair, brown eyes, who stands six feet tall, muscular, athletic, with a talent for music, that's who they're picking, not Noah Puckerman, not me," he explained. "They don't get to see a picture, they don't know who it is they're choosing. Just a number and physical attributes. That's it," he said gently. "And that's why I get the bonus, to keep it anonymous. If I wanted to have involvement the bonus would be double. I don't want involvement, I just want other people to have what we gave Shelby, what we've created for ourselves. That's it," he finished, almost on a whisper.

"I have to think about this," Quinn said tearfully. "I can't talk to you right now, can you just go, somewhere, I don't care, just go, I need to be alone right now," she sobbed, heading for the stairs.

Puck picked up his keys and sighed. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. He knew where he was going to go first. Lima Cryobiology. He wanted to know how the hell they got hold of this address.

"She'll calm down," Judy assured Puck as he opened the front door to leave. "Eventually," she added.

Puck looked back over his shoulder at Judy and gave her a half smile. "I hope so," he replied, sounding very sad, very tired.

When Puck parked outside the facility, he stayed in his truck for a moment. He thought about what he would say. He took a breath and walked in. At the reception desk he saw the usual woman, Sandra, always ready with her pleasant smile, her motherly ways, always helpful.

"Hello," Sandra smiled sat Puck. "We don't usually see you here on a Tuesday," she said, reaching under her desk for a plastic pot. "Room five is free," she nodded towards the hallway with the small cubicles that Puck had used many, many times to make his contribution.

"No," Puck replied, holding up his hand. "I'm not here for that," he said, leaning his arms on top of the chest high part of her desk. "Could I possibly speak to someone?" he asked. "The director or someone?" he added.

"Is there a problem Mr Puckerman? Anything I can help you with?" Sandra asked, immediately tuned in to the fact that this young man seemed troubled.

"Yes, there is," Puck replied with a sigh. "Erm," he began, "I recently changed address although I haven't given my new address here, I was happy for my mail to keep going to my old address, my mother still lives there," he explained. "It seems that somehow," he looked at the ceiling and rolled his eyes, feeling like an idiot, "you have my new address. I'd like to know how. How is that possible?" he asked, shrugging.

"I'm not sure, let me just check," Sandra replied, just as puzzled. She brought Puck's details up on her computer. "Your address is listed here as Dudley Road? Is that right?" she asked, frowning.

"It is," Puck agreed, "but that's my new address, I didn't give you my new address. So how did that happen?" he asked, still confused.

"Are you sure you didn't give it?" Sandra asked, not able to think of how his address had been changed unless he had given them it himself. "Oh, hello Melanie," Sandra said to someone who had walked into the building behind Puck. Puck turned and found himself face to face with someone he recognised. "You're early for your shift tonight, Melanie," Sandra commented.

"I thought I'd come in and get a head start," Melanie said with a smile, glancing at Puck and edging her way past, through into the depths of the building.

"She works here?" Puck asked, something suddenly clicking into place, realisation dawning.

"Yes, she inputs data," Sandra told Puck helpfully. "Why? Do you know her?" she asked conversationally, still trying to backtrack on the computer system to find out who had changed the address and when.

"Yes, I know her," Puck replied. "She's the secretary at my school," he revealed, then turned on his heel and walked out the door.

***I know this really wouldn't be probable or feasible but it was something that came to me in a flash of inspiration and I thought it would be amusing. There hasn't been any real research done for this, I admit that it is just purely for fun in my own little way and to get this tale to a point in the next couple of chapters. You'll see why later. Thanks :)****  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: AU. No relation to the show that we actually saw, just my little insight into what I would have liked it to become, what could have been. No claim to the song either.**

**A/N: Everyone needs a friend…**

"Hey Mrs H," Puck said as Carole Hummel opened the door. "Finn around?" he asked.

"He's at the tire shop," Carole replied looking at Puck, seeing how unlike himself he looked. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah," Puck sighed, obviously lying. "I just need to talk to Finn, maybe he can," he sighed heavily again, "I don't know, give me some sort of perspective, I just, I don't know. I'll catch him later, thanks Mrs H," Puck said sadly, turning to walk away, his hands thrust into his pockets.

"Puck," Carole called out to him, he turned. "Go see Finn at the workshop, Burt won't mind, he can talk while he works and whatever it is, it's not the end of the world, alright?" she gave Puck a smile, a little encouragement.

Puck nodded and waved as he got back into his truck. He headed off to Burt's tire shop. Carole headed to the phone.

"Naomi, hi it's Carole," she said as her call was answered. "Noah's just been here for Finn, he looks dreadful, is he ok?" she asked.

"Noah and Quinn have had a bit of a disagreement, that's all," Naomi replied a smile in her voice to downplay the fact that actually Quinn had called Naomi and told her that if she ever saw Noah again she was going to separate him from his balls and cut off his lucrative second career. "They'll work it out," she said, hopefully.

"All couples fight," Carole agreed with Naomi. "And I'm sure you're right, they'll work it out. They've got the baby coming after all, that gives them something to fight for, doesn't it?" she added brightly.

"It sure does," Naomi agreed, just a little tightly. "Did Noah say where he was heading now?" she asked.

"I think he's going to see Finn at the tire shop," Carole told her.

"Thanks Carole, and thanks for looking out for him," Naomi said before she hung up. Naomi called Judy. "At least we know where he is now," she told Judy. "He's heading off to see Finn at the tire shop. Is Quinn still there?" she asked.

"Damn, no," Judy wailed. "Quinn's gone to see Finn too," she told Naomi. "Oh God, I hope they'll be alright, they have to sort this out, both of them," she sighed. "I'll let you know when they get back or if you see them first, call me, ok?" Judy said. Naomi promised that she would then ended the call.

Judy sat at the island in the kitchen, tapping her chin with the phone, thinking. "What should we do to help them?" she sighed to herself. "Or are we best staying out of it, let them work it out for themselves?" she asked. "Please God, let them work it out," she prayed.

"I can't believe he was doing that," Quinn cried into Finn's chest. "Did he ever tell you about it?" she asked, looking up at Finn with tear-filled eyes, saw him shake his head. "Am I not enough for him? Is that why?" she asked, her mind going round and round in circles.

"You're all I'll ever want," Puck's quiet voice came from behind Quinn. She stiffened slightly and looked down but she didn't turn around, she stayed where she was in Finn's arms, taking comfort from her friend. "You're all I've ever wanted, even when I thought I hated you, I loved you. I will always love you, nothing can ever change that and I'll do anything, _anything_ to prove that to you. Please, just give me a chance, give me _another_ chance. Please," Puck begged, the raw emotion in his voice, on his face bringing a lump even to Finn's throat.

"Why should I?" Quinn asked, her voice thick with the tears she refused to shed in front of him. She turned and stared at Puck with accusing eyes. "Give me one good reason why I should give you another chance," she demanded.

"Because even though you're hurting right now, you know that you love me too," Puck replied. "We're right for each other, we just are, we're Quick," he shrugged, hoping that he was reaching her. He didn't want to say that they should be together because of the baby, he knew that it would be the wrong thing to say. He didn't want to be with her _just_ because of the baby, he wanted to be with her because of _her_.

"So what happens now?" Quinn asked, not responding to his answer.

"That's up to you," Puck replied. "I know what I want," he said quietly. "I want to take you home, hold you till you don't hurt anymore and spend the rest of my life making it up to you," he shrugged again. "But it's up to you. Can you forgive me? Is it too much to ask?" he asked, taking a step closer to Quinn.

"Will you promise that you'll never go there again?" Quinn asked, closing her eyes, she didn't think she could handle it if she didn't see the truth there in his eyes. Quinn felt Puck's hand on hers, touching her gently, lightly taking hold of her hand. She felt the tremor in his hand, felt his thumb stroke over the back of her hand, felt the warmth she always felt when he touched her, even in the most innocent of ways. Quinn opened her eyes and slowly raised them till she was staring straight into Puck's.

"I promise," Puck whispered.

Quinn realised that Finn was no longer stood behind her, she had no idea how long ago he'd disappeared, when he'd left them alone but right now, in this place, there was just the two of them. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again," Quinn admitted. "It's like you've cheated on me hundreds of times and I don't know if I can forgive that," she said, shaking her head slowly.

"In all the time that we've been together, right from the very start, I have never been with another girl, another woman, while I've been with you. The only times I've ever been with anyone else is when we've been apart. And it's nowhere near the amount that people think," Puck admitted with a soft snort of laughter. "No one could ever measure up," he said, so quietly that Quinn had to strain to hear. "And if you don't want me to do it again then I won't," he told Quinn simply. "You are the most important thing in my life, you and our baby and I'll do anything to be there for you, for both of you. Please, just let me be there," he begged.

"I think I want to go home," Quinn said, weariness overtaking her. "Just take me home, I can't think anymore," she finished sadly.

Puck wrapped his arm around Quinn's shoulder and guided her to his truck. He knew that her car would be safe at the tire shop overnight and he didn't think she was in the best shape to be driving, all the fight, the anger seemed to have drained out of her, even her footsteps were heavy and laboured.

When they arrived at Dudley Road, Puck helped Quinn out of the truck. She stumbled a little, Puck scooped Quinn up in his arms and carried her to the door. He had to put her down to open it. When he bent a little to pick her up again, Quinn pushed him away.

"I'm fine, I can manage," she insisted, stepping through the door under her own steam.

Judy didn't speak, she watched them together, saw how tense Quinn looked, saw how defeated Puck looked. She knew they still had a lot to work through. Very quietly, she went to the study and called Naomi.

"Yes, they're here," Judy told Naomi. "No, I don't know if they've sorted anything, if they've talked it out, they both just look exhausted. I think they've gone to bed," she said before she hung up.

Puck helped Quinn up the stairs and ran a bath for her. Quinn found herself in the middle of the bathroom, Puck peeling her clothes off for her and knowing that the only thing he was giving her was comfort, knowing that he wasn't trying to turn it into anything sexual. And for that, she was thankful.

Quinn allowed herself to be washed and dried, dressed and carried to bed, all without saying a word. She lay in the darkness, within Puck's arms waiting for the pain in her chest to go away, waiting for the tears to fall, for the deluge to come. But it didn't.

Puck lay silently behind Quinn, afraid to move, afraid to breathe. He wanted so badly to hug Quinn tighter to him, to haul her closer to him, wrap her up tightly in his arms and never let go. But he didn't.

When morning finally came, neither of them had slept very much, they were both exhausted.

"What are you thinking?" Puck asked, his voice rough through lack of sleep.

"That right at this moment I'm going to throw up," Quinn answered, her voice still flat, dead, emotionless. She ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Puck followed Quinn. He knelt at her side, stroked her hair, her back, held her. "I love you, you know," he said softly. "I know you don't want to hear it right now, but I do," he told her as she brushed her teeth.

"We have to get ready to go to school," Quinn replied, ignoring what Puck had said. She didn't want to be without him just now, but she didn't want to listen to him either. Quinn didn't actually know what she wanted. Not just yet anyway. Maybe it would come to her later. She hoped so, because she really hated this apathetic zombie that was staring back at her in the mirror. Where was Quinn? The real Quinn, where was her fire?

Judy didn't ask when she made breakfast. She really wanted to know but she didn't want to upset the status quo, the atmosphere was already strained enough and she'd had enough of that to last her a lifetime. The question was burning on her lips though. "Where do you go from here?" she wanted to scream at both of them. "Can you work through this? Is it worth the effort? What can I do to help?" she wanted to yell. But she held it in. They'd ask if they needed help and really, they'd already had enough interference, they didn't need any more.

Finn wanted to help. He didn't want to see either of his friends so unhappy. No one in the choir room knew what was wrong, except Finn. They all assumed something far worse. "Is it the baby?" Mercedes whispered to Tina.

"I don't know," Tina whispered back. "They were fine yesterday, and if it was the baby, do you think they'd be in school?" she asked, her voice a little louder than she'd expected.

Puck glanced up, his eyes flicked round the choir room, saw all of them looking at him, looking at Quinn, heard the speculation. He stood up slowly, walked to the piano, and sat down. He started playing, something he rarely did in front of anyone, with his head down, looking at the keys, Puck started to sing.

"How can I just let you walk away?  
Just let you leave without a trace  
When I stand here taking every breath with you,  
You're the only one, who really knew me at all"

The band caught up and started playing.

"How can you just walk away from me?  
When all I can do is watch you leave  
'Cos we've shared the laughter and the pain  
We've even shared the tears  
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now,  
There's just an empty space  
And there's nothing left here to remind me,  
Just the memory of your face  
Well take a look at me now  
There's just an empty space  
And you coming back to me  
Is against the odds and that's what I've got to face"

Puck looked at Quinn, he watched the slow roll of tears down her cheeks, the tremble of her chin, he had to go on.

"I wish I could just make you turn around,  
Turn around and see me cry  
There's so much I need to say to you,  
So many reasons why  
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now  
Well there's just an empty space  
And there's nothing left here to remind me  
Just the memory of your face  
Now take a look at me now  
There's just an empty space  
But to wait for you  
Is all I can do and that's what I've got to face

Take a good look at me now  
'Cos I'll still be standing here  
And you coming back to me is against all odds  
It's the chance I've got to take

Take a look at me now"

Puck's fingers blindly found the keys to finish the melody, he couldn't see anything, his eyes were so full of his own tears, he was afraid they would spill over. He looked up as he heard Quinn's gasped sob, saw her flash past, running from the choir room. Puck followed her, he caught her at the entrance to the girls' bathroom.

"Quinn, please," he begged, drawing her backwards into his arms. "You have to talk to me, tell me we can work this out. Please," he begged again.

"What's happening with them?" Rachel asked Finn quietly, afraid of other people overhearing. They all knew it was serious, but that's all they knew.

"I can't tell you," Finn replied with a self-conscious shrug. "Please don't ask me Rachel, it's their business. I'm sorry," he ended, shaking his head. He followed Puck and Quinn out of the choir room. "You don't need to be somewhere public," he advised them. "The bell is going to ring any second and the hall will be filled with students. Go in there," he nodded towards the bathroom, "I'll stop anyone else from going in, ok?" he nodded.

Puck nodded back, Quinn still crying in his arms. "Thanks man," Puck replied huskily, his eyes still damp. Puck ushered Quinn through the door allowing it to close behind them. "Will you at least say something to me?" he asked Quinn.

"You're an asshole," Quinn replied, looking at Puck through the mirror. "Is that what you want to hear?" she asked. "I love you and I hate you at the same time and I don't know which is stronger, the love or the hate. I hate that you've done this to me, to us. I hate that you've given part of yourself to other people. What if the person in the birthing room next to us bought your sperm? What if there's a hundred little Puckermans walking round Ohio? What if Beth falls in love when she's older and he turns out to be spawn of Puckerman, bought from Freezerland? What if you meet one of them and you love it more than you love _our_ baby?" she asked, her anger dissipating.

"I couldn't love anyone more than I love you or any child that we have together," Puck replied, the only one of her questions he could answer.

"But you might," Quinn said sadly, "you don't know that you won't."

"I haven't for over three years," Puck reminded Quinn softly, "why should it be different now?" he asked.

"Why did you do it?" Quinn asked. "The truth this time, not the 'I wanted to help humanity' crap that you spouted yesterday. The truth," she repeated, her eyes on him in the mirror.

"What I told you yesterday was the truth," Puck replied. "It wasn't the whole truth, but it was a lot of it," he sighed. "The money was a huge part of it," he admitted. "I've never had money like that and it felt good, getting paid for something I do all the time, well, I do when I'm not with you," he qualified. "All guys do, its human nature, so why not get paid for it and help people out too, its win-win, you know?" he asked, hoping she was understanding it. "And it was like, if I saved it all, all that money, I mean, I'm never going to go to college, we both know that, but Sarah might, one day and if I could help out, give her a start, it'd help my mom too," Puck stopped talking suddenly. "I have a million reasons why, and every time the reason has been a little different, all of them are true, not all of them mean very much, but at the time," he shrugged. "I don't know what else to say to you, I know you don't want to forgive me, but will you at least try?" he asked.

Quinn carried on looking at him. They both heard the bell ring a second time to announce the next lesson, they both ignored it. Quinn had yet to move out of Puck's arms, they were still around her, her back against his chest, they watched each other in the mirror.

Finn stuck his head round the door. "The coast's clear if you want to make a run for it," he advised.

"What do you say?" Puck asked, his arms giving Quinn a little jiggle. "Go home, get your mom to call in for us? Work this out?" he ended with a tight smile. He felt something ease in him when Quinn nodded. "Come on then," he said, taking one of her hands and leading her out of school, out to the truck.

"You're home early," Judy said breathlessly when she met them at the door. "I wasn't expecting you," she added.

"We need to work this out, can you call school for us, tell them whatever? Please mom?" Quinn asked.

"Sure," Judy nodded.

Quinn walked into the kitchen and found Connie and Naomi in there with a pot of coffee between them. She looked longingly at the pot and sighed. She sat down on the stool next to the one she assumed her mother had been sitting on, the half full coffee cup was a bit of a give away.

"Hey," Puck said from the doorway, giving his mom and his Nana a half-hearted wave. "So we're talking in here? With everyone?" he asked Quinn.

"I think so," Quinn replied. "Well, they all already know about it, we might as well have their input, we might need referees. Or witnesses, depending on the outcome," she said lightly, trying to smile just a little.

"Have you come to any conclusion yet?" Naomi asked, looking at Quinn first.

"I don't want him to do it again," Quinn said, nodding. "I don't know if that's a conclusion, but I'd rather he never earn another penny in his life again than sell himself like that," she stated.

"I have to agree," Connie said. "I think it is a bit like prostituting yourself," she told her grandson. "Selling something that should be kept for the woman you love, it's just not right," she added.

Quinn felt a little thaw inside her. "Exactly. That's exactly it," she thought.

"I've already said I won't do it again," Puck replied, sitting beside his mom, opposite Quinn. "I can't take back what's already out there, it doesn't belong to me anymore. But I won't make any more deposits, you have my word," he said, taking Quinn's hand.

"It's going to take a lot more than that," Quinn stated quietly, matter of factly. "And you can't ask me how much it's going to take because I don't know," she admitted.

"But what you have is worth fighting for, right?" Judy asked, lifting her cup, taking a sip of the beautifully fragrant coffee.

"I think so," Puck murmured. "But I can't fight for us alone, it has to be both of us," he said looking at Quinn, glancing down at their hands. At least she hadn't pulled away from him and the way her thumb was absently tracing the knuckle in his thumb, well, that gave him hope. She wouldn't be touching him if she couldn't stand him, would she?

"You can't just sing to me and expect everything to be ok," Quinn told Puck with the slightest, tiniest hint of a smile on her lips. "It was a good choice though, it fit everything, except you weren't standing, you were sitting," she said, the smile growing just a touch. "That's the first time you've ever played the piano for me," she reminded him.

"Well, you have to forgive him now," Connie told Quinn, her tone both teasing and serious. "If he played piano for you, in public, that's serious stuff, he really means it. He never plays for anyone, not even his dear old Nana," she sighed dramatically.

Quinn couldn't help but give the tiniest huff of a laugh at Connie. But her words had done something. They made Quinn think. Puck was always doing stuff with her, for her, that he wouldn't entertain doing for other people. Like last night, when he'd run her bath then bathed her. She hadn't asked him to do that, he just knew that she needed it. Like with her toothpaste. She'd never told him that the baking soda one she used daily made her feel even more sick if she cleaned her teeth with it after throwing up, he just knew that the minty one was what she needed then. And she could even understand his need to earn money. He'd worked really hard since the end of freshman year, coming up with his own business plan, seeing it through, he'd even got the contract to clean all the pools in the Ellish chain, seven indoor pools, giving him a year round income. He hadn't taken that on lightly, he'd had to send in a quote, a breakdown of the costs, the service charges, it hadn't been just a word of mouth thing, he'd had to really work for that.

Quinn sighed. She looked up slowly, felt the silence all around her, knew that their mothers, Connie, Puck were all waiting, watching her. "Here's how it's going to be," she started, her eyes fixed on Puck's. "There aren't any more chances. This is it and if you screw up again, we're through," she said firmly. "And it's my feelings that count, what I want that comes first," she leaned back in her seat. "Tell me now if you can't handle that, because I can do this on my own, I don't need you to support me, I don't need someone who can't put me first," she waited to see if Puck would balk at that. He didn't. He bit his lip, glanced down at their hands, nodding as if considering Quinn's words, but he didn't refuse.

"Anything else?" Puck asked, looking up. He kept his eyes locked with Quinn's and even though he knew they might both get embarrassed, he had to ask. "Am I just to be expected to lie down on the floor for you to step all over? Should I just hand over my balls now?" he pointedly ignored his Nana's reply of 'yes' and waited for Quinn to speak again.

"I think I prefer them where they are," Quinn said a few moments later, after she'd considered it.

"Thank God for that at least," Puck mumbled. "I can live with the rest of it, if you can," he added.

Judy, Naomi and Connie all breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Puck rounded the island to take Quinn in his arms, hugging her tight. The relief grew just a little more when Quinn's arms went around Puck's neck. They were all even more relieved when she didn't hug him tight enough to strangle him.

"Do you want to go back to school today?" Judy asked.

"Not really," Puck replied, he didn't want to have to take his arms away from Quinn. "I have to make a complaint though," he added.

"Why's that?" Naomi asked curiously.

"Because I'm sure that school information, personal details are private, should be covered by some sort of data protection law or something and the secretary, who is moonlighting at Cryobiology by the way, took it upon herself to update my address there without my permission," Puck revealed. "I think both of her employers should know that she can't be trusted with sensitive information."

"Did she indeed?" Connie asked, her outrage growing. One thing that Connie hated, not particularly more than anything else, but with a passion, was people's privacy being invaded. "Pass me the phone," she demanded. Judy did so, a little wary of what Connie intended to do. "What's the number for that place?" Connie asked Puck. He found it for her. Connie dialled and waited to be answered.

"Good morning," Connie said, in her ultra polite way. "Yes, I'm sure that you can help me," she said with a smile to whoever had answered her call. "Is it possible to speak to the director of the facility, please?" she asked. "It's a matter of privacy, dear," she explained. "Yes, that's right, the privacy of your donors," she waited a second. "Thank you," she said, with another smile. Connie looked at the people around her and nodded, waiting for her call to be put through. "Oh, good morning," she said to the person on the other end of the line. "Yes, that's right. Well, it has come to my attention that one of your employees is arbitrarily changing the personal details of your donors. Now, as I understand it, the donors are for the most part anonymous, is that right?" she asked, with a wink at Puck. "Are you aware that at least one of your employees has taken it upon herself to change address details without the donor's permission? No?" Connie waited again, obviously listening to some sort of explanation. "The donor in question, who for obvious reasons does not want to be named, has decided that your facility cannot be trusted and will not be making anymore deposits," she explained. "Thank you, I felt that you should know, I mean, it is an extremely sensitive business that you're in and if word of that was to get out, well, who would trust you anymore? Well, thank you for your time," she said with a smile and ended the call. "Let's see if she still has a job by the end of the day," Connie told them all.

"She must need the job, need the money," Quinn said, reaching out to Connie, stopping her from calling the school. "She wouldn't be working two jobs if she didn't, would she?" she asked. "We don't know her circumstances, we don't know anything about her, you can't make that call," she said, aware that she was appealing on behalf of the woman who had almost destroyed her life. "If she's lost the job at Cryofreeze," Quinn added gently as Puck interrupted.

"Cryobiology," Puck corrected.

"I know what it's called," Quinn snapped, "but if she's lost one job, that's enough, surely?" she asked, her tone gentle, pleading.

"So you can forgive her but not Noah?" Connie asked. "You can forgive a near stranger but not the guy you love?" she looked at Quinn waiting for her to answer.

Quinn looked at her hands, guiltily, chewing her lip. "I forgive you," she told Puck quietly. "But don't ever do it again," she said, the breath almost knocked out of her as he wrapped her up in his arms so tightly.

Connie put the phone down on the counter. "I should have been on the stage," she sighed, proud of her work.

"What do you mean?" Puck asked.

"Well, calls tend to be answered quicker if you actually press 'send'," she replied with a huge grin.

"You mean you just pretended to call?" Quinn asked, her mouth falling open, aware that she had been played. "You didn't get that woman fired?" she demanded, shaking her head.

"No," Connie answered, looking disgusted that Quinn would accuse her of such a thing. "Look, if anyone is working two jobs it's because they _need_ to, not because they _want_ to. I'm not having someone's downfall on my conscience," she stated. "But it made you think about what's important, didn't it?" she asked.

Quinn sighed and looked at Puck. "Yeah, it did," she said with a smile. "What's already done isn't important, it's how we go on from here that is," she said quietly. "But your balls are still mine." Puck didn't dare disagree.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: AU. The world of Quick as we could have had it.**

**A/N: Apologies in advance for any inaccuracies, there is certainly no disrespect intended. **

"Noah," Naomi said quietly. "Would you?" she asked, nodding towards the menorah.

"Sure," Puck smiled, feeling the glow of pride settle on him. He stood in front of the menorah. "Boruch Attah Adonoy, Elohainu Melech ha-olam, asher kidishanu b'mitzvotav, v'tsivanu l'hadlik ner shel Chanukah," he said, reciting the first blessing.

Quinn was mesmerised, entranced by the sound of Puck's voice saying the unfamiliar words. He glanced towards her, held her gaze as he said the same blessing in English. "Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us to light the Chanukah light," he smiled as he finished.

Puck recited the second blessing and again repeated it in English and then the third blessing for the first night of Hanukkah and then he lit the first candle. He followed that with the traditional verse, reciting it in English. Quinn was fascinated. She'd never really taken part in any of their customs or celebrations before. When she'd lived with the Puckermans she'd never felt comfortable enough, still too close to her own religion to participate so she'd always managed to get herself invited to Mercedes' house whenever Puck and his family were celebrating something. Now she realised that she'd missed out on something special.

"Happy Hanukkah," Sarah breathed to herself as she opened her gift. She grinned at her brother, her eyes wide, excited, happy, her smile couldn't get any bigger. "Thank you, Noah," she said in a suspiciously croaky voice.

"You like it?" Puck asked, smiling back and hugging her. "Chanukah Sameach," he said, kissing Sarah on the top of her head.

"Thanks Quinn," Sarah called over her shoulder, "I know it's from you too, even though you're not Jewish," she said, giving Quinn a wink. "But we love you anyway" she said with a grin.

"That was all your brother's idea," Quinn denied, laughing. "Don't tell him I told you," she whispered loudly, her hand hiding her mouth from Puck, who rolled his eyes at her, she glanced up at him, "but he felt guilty for taking his Xbox with him when he came to live with me," she nodded, grinning back at Sarah.

"Chanukah Sameach, Noah," Connie cried, hugging her grandson. "Chanukah Sameach, Quinn," she added, hugging her too.

"Happy Hanukkah, Connie," Quinn replied, kissing Connie's cheek.

"Noah, can you bring the latkes in please?" Naomi asked, her hands already full of dishes. She waited till he'd left the room. "Give it a second….wait for it…" then they all heard him. "I think he likes his gift," Naomi grinned.

Puck charged back into the room, minus the latkes, he'd forgotten all about them when he'd spotted the only thing actually on the kitchen table, a present wrapped up with his name on it.

"An ipad?" Puck said to his mom, shock on his face and in his voice. "This is…wow…it's awesome, but mom, you didn't have to….you should save…" he was cut off by Naomi shushing him.

"Next year it'll be your son or daughter getting the good stuff for Hanukkah, this is from all of us, even Quinn," Naomi admitted, giving in to the bear hug from her son.

"Well, thank you, all of you, I love it," Puck grinned, hugging his sister, his Nana and finally Quinn.

Puck put a large gift wrapped box in front of Connie. "Happy Hanukkah, Nana," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you, sweetheart, happy Hanukkah to you too," Connie replied. She was thrilled when she opened the box and found a sewing machine. An all singing, all dancing, 'bet-you-never-thought-of-this-stitch' sewing machine. "Oh, wow," Connie gasped. "This is amazing," she breathed. "Quinn, I hope you won't mind dressing the baby in home made clothes, it's going to get a lot of them," she warned. Her very favourite hobby in all the world was to design and make professional quality baby clothes.

"I won't mind at all," Quinn replied, kissing Connie's cheek. "I hope you have a lot of fun with it," she added, nodding towards the machine.

"Oh I will," Connie declared, her eyes wide as she checked the list of functions on the side of the box. "I definitely will," she said, giving Sarah another hug.

"Come on, Quinn," Sarah called. "What did you get?" she asked, handing her a gift wrapped parcel.

Quinn opened her gift. She was thrilled that Puck had been listening to her, even though she'd only grumbled a couple of days ago to her mom that her flat iron didn't seem to be heating up fully. "Thank you," she cried, "just exactly what I needed. Thank you," she said again, reaching up to kiss Puck.

"Did you open your gift yet, Naomi?" Quinn asked, knowing full well that she hadn't. If Naomi had opened the gift there would have been floods of tears already.

"Not yet," Naomi smiled, feeling the shiver of excitement that passed through her. Puck handed her a beautifully wrapped package. "Thank you," she said, kissing Puck's cheek then Quinn's. She watched their faces, saw the excitement building in their eyes. They could hardly wait for her to undo the wrapping. Naomi got a touch more excited. Whatever was in the parcel was something huge for them.

"It's in two parts," Puck told Naomi. "This is the first part," he announced then stepped back to watch her open it.

"A digital camera," Naomi cried. "Thank you, that's wonderful. I can't wait to get started with it," she grinned.

"And this is the second part," Quinn said, handing Naomi another identically wrapped gift. "I hope you like it," she added, biting her lip.

"A digital photo frame, how wonderful," Naomi cried. She'd kept talking about getting one of those, she already had hundreds of old pictures, photos scanned into the computer, she could just download them onto it. "How many pictures can I download onto this?" she mumbled to herself, turning the box over in her hand, reading the specs.

"There's already a few on there, I downloaded some already," Puck grinned even wider. "I hope you like them," he said, sounding just a little nervous.

Naomi gave Puck a wary look, she switched the frame on and watched the slide show. "Oh, Noah, aww, when you were a baby, aww look at you, you were so cute," she said, in a weird voice. "And Sarah, aww, look at you," she said, holding the frame for Sarah to see. "My little princess," she added, giving Sarah's head a stroke. "Oh," Naomi breathed. "Oh, that's beautiful," she sighed at the picture of Puck, Quinn and Beth taken by Mr Schue especially for Puck to download onto the frame. "Oh," she breathed again, her mouth wide open. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked, her voice high, barely audible.

Puck and Quinn nodded, their arms round each other's backs. "Yep," Puck grinned. "That's Peanut," he said, giving Quinn a loving look before dropping a kiss on her smiling lips. "We don't know what Peanut is yet, it's a little too early, but they had a cancellation because of the holidays, so Zara called us and asked us if we wanted the ultrasound today, so we went. What do you think?" he asked, seeing the tears in his mom's and in his Nana's eyes. "Think it looks like me?" he asked, grinning.

"Nah," Sarah replied, looking over Naomi's arm. "Doesn't look like you, this kid looks cute," she said, grinning at Quinn.

Everyone loved their gifts, and they all enjoyed the food. games and celebrations of the first night of Hanukkah. Puck and Quinn stayed until quite late. "We have to get moving," Puck announced, pulling Quinn up from the sofa where she'd started to doze off just a little. "Come on, Slim," he encouraged. "Time to get you home to bed," he said, watching her pout, pretending to be asleep stood up. "Did you see this mom?" Puck asked, lifting Quinn's top up a little, knowing that she wouldn't stay 'asleep' for long. She didn't. Quinn yelped and slapped his hand down, righting the hem of the loose red blouse. "Aww, it's just a little bump. Tiny, minute," he grinned, showing a gap between his thumb and forefinger. "Teeny," he added. "It just looks like you've swallowed a grapefruit. Whole," he added then dodged away as Quinn looked round for something to hit him with.

"Leave the girl alone," Connie instructed. "You look beautiful Quinn, don't let anyone tell you any different. You're glowing," she added, chucking Quinn's cheeks.

"Thank you Connie," Quinn replied, nodding graciously to the older woman. "And I'd have thought _you_ would be telling me things like that," she said to Puck, her eyebrow arched.

"You look beautiful," Puck said immediately, brushing her lips with his. "Sexy," he gave her a peck, "sassy," he gave her another, "and drop dead gorgeous," he whispered, giving her a longer kiss.

"Can't you go home and do that?" Sarah asked, screwing up her face in disgust. "Thanks for setting up my Xbox for me Noah, but you may go home now," she instructed her brother before she launched herself at him to give him a tight hug. "Thanks," she repeated with a sniff before running off to her bedroom to play on her game.

The holiday season came and went in a flash. Quinn really enjoyed the whole Hanukkah experience, visiting every evening for Puck to light the candles, say the blessings, exchange small gifts with the whole family. Quinn had fun, she absolutely loved it. Puck enjoyed the whole family Christmas experience. The carols round the tree, the pile of presents to open all on one day, pulling the crackers. He appreciated that Judy had changed her traditional Christmas menu from roast ham to roast turkey and that she used vegetarian sausages and turkey bacon to make the 'pigs-in-blankets'.

"Thank you," Puck told Judy quietly in the kitchen when he was helping to clear up. "I know I don't always keep kosher, but there are some things that even I won't eat. So thank you for that, for changing things just for me. I really do appreciate it," he said, nodding.

Quinn, stood quietly in the doorway to the kitchen overheard the conversation and got quite emotional. She cleared her throat and walked into the kitchen. "Mom, when you're ready, we have one more gift for you," she told Judy, holding her hand out for her mom to take.

Quinn led the way back to the lounge. Orla and Dale were waiting to see what the extra gift to Judy was. All Quinn had told them was that it was something that would probably make Judy cry.

"This is from both of us," Puck said, handing the gift wrapped package to Judy, "and I hope that you'll get many hours of pleasure from it," he added, leaning over to kiss her cheek. Quinn stepped forward and hugged her mom.

"Merry Christmas, mom," she whispered into Judy's ear.

"Thank you," Judy replied, looking at the parcel, intrigued.

"Open it," Orla encouraged, excited to see.

Judy ripped off the beautiful paper and ribbons and found a digital photo frame, identical to the one that Naomi had been given just a few days earlier for Hanukkah. Naomi had been sworn to secrecy.

"Here, let me turn it on for you," Orla offered. Judy was entranced by the pictures of her daughters, at their various dance recitals, Orla and Dale's wedding, the picture of Quinn, Puck and Beth and then the ultrasound picture. "Is this my new nephew?" Orla asked, her face showing her excitement.

"Or niece," Puck corrected, "we don't know yet, but we decided it's called Peanut for now, 'cos it looked like a peanut till the technician moved the scanner thingy round," he explained.

"When did you have this done?" Judy cried. "You never told me you had an appointment," she said, sounding just a little miffed. "I thought you were having the ultrasound done next week, I thought I was going with you," she said. Judy sounded really upset, hurt.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Quinn said, hugging Judy and feeling genuinely upset that her mom's feelings had been hurt. "Zara called and offered us a cancellation for the ultrasound, so we took it," she explained. "I'll still be having another one done at twenty weeks," she told Judy, trying to appease her injured feelings. "You can come with us for that," she offered.

"And you're getting on well with Zara?" Orla asked. "It sounds like you are."

"Yes," Quinn replied, "she's wonderful, so understanding, she's so calm, it's wonderful, the birthing centre is so relaxing," she sighed with pleasure. "The yoga classes are amazing and the water aerobics is excellent too," she gushed, full of enthusiasm.

"And we're already pre-booked for the prenatal classes and the parenting classes," Puck added with a smile.

"You sound like you're looking forward to it," Dale said, quite surprised at Puck's enthusiasm. He hadn't really expected that. Puck was surprising everybody. Especially Quinn. And maybe even himself just a little.

Back at school in the new year, Mr Schue received the information they needed for Regionals.

"Well, as Regionals is being held in February," Mr Schue said with a smile over the top of the papers he was reading from. "The theme is, unsurprisingly, love," he finished, dragging the word out.

"We can do that," Mercedes said, turning and receiving a sweet little kiss from Sam. "We're all full of love," she added, glancing round at the pairs, couples in the room. "Most of us, anyway," she thought to herself, with a sad little glance at Rachel then Finn. So far, neither of them had found anyone else yet.

"Ok, so throw some ideas at me," Mr Schue nodded, standing at the whiteboard, pen at the ready. "But if anyone says My Heart Will Go On, I'm resigning from Glee club," he added, turning to look over his shoulder at the class. "Seriously," he added, seeing Rachel's pout.

"What about a whole Elvis set, Mr Schue?" Sam called out.

Mr Schue nodded, giving it some consideration. "Elvis," he repeated, writing that on the board. "Anything else?" he asked.

"The Beatles," Artie shouted.

"Good," Mr Schue said, adding that too. "More, what about song titles?" he asked.

"Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" Mercedes shouted.

"Because they're idiots?" Puck couldn't help himself replying, laughing, leaning away from Quinn when she went to smack his shoulder. "Hey," he laughed. "You really need to work on controlling that impulse," he told her, still laughing. "Hey Mr Schue, how about The Power Of Love?," Puck called, an idea just coming to him. "In the same year there were like, three different songs, all with that same title, all of them totally different, not covers or anything. So how about we do all three versions?" he asked.

"Brilliant," Brittany sighed, "pure genius," she added, taking hold of Santana's hand and hugging it to her.

"That is a really cool idea," Rachel said slowly, nodding her head as she thought about each version of the song. "Obviously, I'm happy to take the lead in the Jennifer Rush one, if there are no objections," she added, looking round at her team-mates.

"None from me," Quinn muttered, smoothing out the skirt of her dress, "I can't stand that song," she whispered to Puck.

Mr Schue got the lyrics up online for all three songs. He distributed the parts and gave everyone sections to sing, encouraging them to practice at home. When the bell rang for end of class he asked Puck and Quinn to wait for a second.

"Shelby has asked me to have a word with you," he said quietly. "She's thinking that maybe this Sunday you'd like to take Beth out, just by yourselves, maybe to see your families?" he suggested.

Quinn sucked in a breath. "Oh, that would be wonderful," she breathed, her voice a little tremulous. "I know my mom would love to see her," she said, looking at Puck for ideas. "Maybe if we take her to lunch, get my mom and yours to meet us at the restaurant? Sarah and your Nana too, obviously. I don't think Orla and Dale are visiting this weekend," she continued, her mind skipping about, only able to think about introducing Beth to Judy.

"If we pick her up about twelve, we can all meet at Breadstix, have some time together and have Beth home by three, ready to have her nap," Puck suggested, nodding. "Would that be ok?" he asked Mr Schue.

"I think that would be just about perfect. Beth does love going to Breadstix," he added.

"Thank you Mr Schue and tell Shelby thank you too," Quinn said in a rush, really wanting to give Mr Schue a big hug. She held off because of other students passing the door and she didn't want to cause yet another scandal. She'd had enough of those to last her for the rest of her school days.

The rest of the week passed by in a haze for Quinn. If she'd have been asked what she'd been doing all week, she probably wouldn't have been able to give a coherent answer. The only thing that seemed important to her was Sunday lunch with Beth. She couldn't wait.

At twelve thirty on Sunday, Puck opened the door and led the way into Breadstix, carrying Beth on his hip, Quinn following with the changing bag.

"We're here," he said, totally unnecessarily as he arrived at the large table where Judy, Naomi, Sarah and Connie already sat. Judy had already commandeered a highchair so Puck sat Beth in it and helped her off with her coat. "Ok, what are you going to eat, Monkey Face?" he asked her, smiling at her.

"Nuh-no," Beth trilled, reaching with grasping fingers to Puck. "Tin," she called, reaching to Quinn as they sat either side of the highchair. She looked shyly at the other people round the table. They all had a great time and a great lunch. They all looked forward to doing the same in a month's time.

The halfway point of Quinn's pregnancy fell right around Valentines. So did the second ultrasound. So did Regionals. Quinn was a tad more excited for the ultrasound than she was for Regionals.

Quinn knew with one hundred percent certainty that she didn't have a thing to worry about for Valentines. So far Puck had not put a foot wrong. He was attentive to the point of smothering her. He considered her first with every move he made. More than one of the football team had surreptitiously checked Quinn's ears to see if she had a new pair of big dangly earrings.

"Where does Quinn keep your balls?" Portman, the huge line backer, asked, laughing loudly at his own joke. "Come on Puckerman, you always used to be up for a good party, we could always rely on you to bring the booze and the girls, come _on_," he begged, "give us all a break," he pouted and tried to give puppy dog eyes, his hands together in prayer.

"Sorry, no can do," Puck shrugged. "Quinn doesn't feel up to partying and I'm not going without her," he told Portman as he headed for the door. As he left the locker room he paused and looked back at Portman. "And she keeps my balls on a key chain," he laughed as he left with Finn. "And you have no idea how fucking close to the truth that is," he muttered through gritted teeth to Finn.

"But you're good now, both of you, right?" Finn asked, making sure. He'd been Quinn's confidante for the last few months, listening to her when she needed to complain about Puck wrapping her in cotton wool, stifling her. Finn had reminded Quinn of the old saying, 'be careful what you wish for'. Quinn chose not to reply to that although she did give Finn a fairly evil stare.

"Oh yeah," Puck nodded. "We're cool, solid," he replied, confident that they were. But, there were times, just sometimes, especially recently that Quinn had got just a little touch more demanding. Puck laughed it off. "Yay, hormones," he'd mockingly cheer to himself quietly and then seek to fulfill her latest whim.

The day before the ultrasound and Valentines Day, five days before Regionals, Quinn could barely sit still in the choir room. The only thing that she could think of was strawberries dipped in barbecue sauce. And she needed it. Now. Right now. Like, I-don't-care-if-it-is-the-middle-of-a-school-day-g et-it-for-me-NOW, type of needed it. Puck didn't seem to be rushing to fulfill her wish.

"If I leave school again in the middle of a class to bring you something, Figgins is going to suspend me," Puck explained through gritted teeth. "Please, for the love of God, can you just wait?" he begged.

"But I need it. I really, really need it," Quinn whined. "If you loved me you'd get it for me," she pouted. Puck sighed. Just about every time she wanted something these days she played the 'if you loved me' card. Again and again. Shamelessly.

Puck sighed, his shoulders sagged. "Mr Schue," he approached the teacher. "Is there any chance at all you can give me a pass or something?" he asked. "Quinn is going nuts for strawberries and barbecue sauce," he said as they both glanced over towards her, saw her chatting with Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Finn, saw her hands wringing together, her toes tapping, chewing on her lip every few seconds. "She's not going to make it till the end of school," Puck predicted, shaking his head. "And if by some miracle she does, the drive home is going to be hell," he added. "Just thought I'd ask," he said and sighed wearily. He walked back to where Quinn sat, her face expectant.

Puck watched the expression on Quinn's face change from expectant to desperate to despondent. "He said no," Quinn guessed. "Right?" she asked. Puck nodded.

"There is another way," he said suddenly, bouncing back up out of his seat. "Mr Schue?" he called. "Can I at least call my Nana, get her to bring some in? Please?" he grovelled.

"Now _that_ I will allow," Mr Schue nodded with a smile. His smile grew as he watched Quinn's face light up again. "It's amusing to watch," he said quietly to Puck, "but I bet it's hell to live with," he added with a barely hidden snigger of laughter.

"You have no idea," Puck sighed. He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Connie. "Hey Nana," he said as she answered. "Could you bring some strawberries and barbecue sauce to school for Quinn, please?" he asked "Just a sec," he said to Connie and turned to Quinn, his phone still at his ear. "Any particular brand?" he asked her, mildly amused that his Nana had thought of that, he knew he wouldn't have. Quinn answered. "Rufus Teague," Puck passed on to Connie. "And Quinn says thank you and to tell you you're a saint. Thanks Nana," he said with a smile before he ended the call.

"Can we rehearse for Regionals now?" Mr Schue asked. "Ok, we all know what we're doing," he called, checking his clipboard. "Artie, Sam, Finn, you're up first, give us what you got," he invited, looking up to see all of his class sat staring at the doorway. "What?" he asked them before turning round to look himself. "Shelby?" Mr Schue exclaimed in surprise. "What…what are you doing here?" he asked, knowing that she should be teaching her own class right now. He couldn't help the smile that appeared, lighting up the whole of his face.

Shelby walked slowly, a little bashfully, through the door. At the side of her, previously out of sight, but now in full view of everyone, walked Beth, trailing a bouquet of red roses, heads down on the floor. Shelby gave Mr Schue a beautiful smile, one that looked full of love and promise.

Shelby cleared her throat daintily then spoke, loud enough for the class to hear. She really hoped that she was doing the right thing. Her heart was telling her it was. "We have come to ask you a question," she said to Mr Schue, in answer to his question. "As this year is a leap year, Beth and I thought we'd follow tradition," she said, smiling even more as Mr Schue obviously caught on and couldn't keep his own smile from beaming. "So," she glanced round the room and caught the expectant stares, some of the students almost holding their breath, all of them smiling. "Mr William Schuester," Shelby began, "would you do us the honour of becoming our husband and father?" she asked, bowing just a little, keeping it formal.

"It would be my pleasure," Mr Schue replied, stepping close to take Shelby into his arms. The class erupted as Mr Schue kissed his brand new fiancée, the cheers startling Beth just a little, making her jump and cling to Mr Schue's leg. He bent to pick her up bringing her into the hug with Shelby. The roses that Beth had carried, now a little dusty, worn and tattered, were handed to Mr Schue, a total reversal of the norm. New Directions cheered and clapped, they'd all loved being a part of this, pleased that they could share the moment with their favourite teacher. Puck and Quinn loved it even more, especially when Beth wriggled free of Mr Schue's arms to run to them shouting 'Nuh-no' and 'Tin'.

Puck's phone rang while they were still celebrating the good news. "I'll just be a couple of minutes," he said quietly, leaving the choir room. He returned with a bag and handed it to Quinn. "There you go," he told her, a half smile on his face. "Enjoy," he added as she dived in, sighing with pleasure as she dripped sauce onto a huge strawberry. The look on her face as she took the first bite was enough to make Puck swallow hard. It made a few things hard. Well, one thing. He couldn't take his eyes off her, her face displaying almost orgasmic pleasure. Puck watched her tongue swirl around the half eaten piece of fruit, licking off the sauce that she'd drizzled on it. He gulped and rubbed damp palms along the length of his thighs. It was the closest thing to porn that he'd ever seen at school.

"Get a room," Santana called dismissively, watching both of them, noting Puck's reaction to Quinn just eating. "It's sad," she told Puck. "Very sad," she added with a roll of her eyes. "You used to be such a guy, now you're just whipped," she whispered.

Quinn looked up at Puck through her lashes, a strawberry held to her lips, the hint of a smile on them. "You know, there should be a reward for going the extra mile," she said huskily then winked at him, slowly, deliberately with her left eye.

Puck's automatic response, his tongue appearing just a touch at the corner of his mouth.

Quinn's hand rose in a nonchalant way as though to brush her hair behind her ear. She gave her right ear a slight tug. Puck ran the fingers of his left hand through his mohawk. Message definitely received, understood and so very, very welcomed.

The lunchtime bell could not come quick enough for Puck. He got into the janitor's closet without being seen and only waited for what seemed like a few seconds till Quinn was with him.

"I am so, so horny," she breathed against his lips, her tongue seeking entry to his mouth, tangling with his tongue.

Puck's hand in her hair kept their lips together, his other hand inching her skirt up her thighs was working without conscious instruction from his brain. As Quinn's fingers released his zipper he acted on instinct and backed her up to the bench. "I am so ready right now," he breathed into her mouth.

"Me too," Quinn answered, her voice a rush of air on his lips. Her hand went round the back of his head, her feet crossing in the small of his back, dragging him closer to where she needed him. Puck had no hesitation in burying himself deep inside, exactly where she wanted him to be. His hands on her hips, keeping her in place as he powered in and out of her. Puck bit his lips as he approached bursting point. He felt Quinn shiver, felt the tremors wrack her body, felt her go limp in his arms, then he saw blinding light behind his eyelids as his world, his body exploded.

They took a few moments to clean up, get their breath back, both of them laughing softly at themselves, their lack of control. As Puck opened the door to peek out, see if the coast was clear, he found the janitor waiting. Mr Crosby was stood in the hall, arms folded, checking his watch. He spotted Puck opening the door.

"Look," Mr Crosby said quietly. "I get it, I know what my wife was like when she was pregnant, but do you think you could at least let me have my lunch first?" he asked, resignation in his voice. "Here," he mumbled, handing Puck a key. "It's for the old medical room, there's still a cot in there. Think you can have fun there and give my bench a miss in future?" he asked, noting Quinn's blush and Puck's smirk.

"Thanks Mr Crosby," Puck murmured. "I've got you down for Friday night this week, for cleaning your hot tub, we have Regionals on Saturday. Hope that's ok?" he added.

"It's cool Puck," the janitor replied. "See you Friday. And stay off my bench," he reminded them.

Puck and Quinn walked away, grinning and sniggering between them. They didn't dare speak to each other till they'd rounded the corner. They made their way to the lunchroom, finding Glee club sat at their usual table. They joined them, sitting close together.

"Where did you two disappear to?" Finn asked, giving Puck a questioning look, smirking just a little.

"We had to go see someone," Puck said hesitantly, choosing his words carefully.

"Oh," Finn said, nodding his head. "I thought you'd snuck off to the janitor's closet to have sex," he added, just loud enough to embarrass them.

"Hey," Puck called, sounding pissed off. "We don't sneak off to have sex," he told Finn. "We sneak off to have hot, totally mind blowing, melt your lungs sex, actually," he finished with a grin and a wink at Quinn. "What?" he asked, looking round at the few stunned faces. "It's not like you don't know that we do it," he pointed out, rubbing Quinn's belly.

"We know that you do," Santana confirmed. "You might want to know though," she added, "the venting system," she pointed to a metal grid above their heads as they heard a faint curse echo through it, "it's all connected. Quinn, you might want to work on controlling the screaming," she finished with a wink.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I make no claim to ownership.**

**A/N: Some Valentine's fun and a gift or two…..**

"Oh my," Judy breathed, her fingers fluttering over her lips. "Oh," she repeated. "Quinnie, it's amazing," she told Quinn, tears spilling over. "Beautiful. Oh Quinnie, that's your baby," she said as if they hadn't already known that.

The technician, Vickie, had her hand over part of the screen. She smiled at Quinn and Puck. "Do we want to know?" she asked.

"We do," Puck nodded, smiling at Quinn. He saw the sudden flash of fear in her eyes. "Don't we?" he asked, kissing the end of her fingers, Puck had one of Quinn's hands gripped in both of his. He was nervous too, his legs constantly moving, bouncing on his toes as he sat at the side of the bed, his breath a little shallow.

"Yes," Judy cried, from her position, stood behind Puck. "Yes we do. Don't we Quinnie? Yes we do," she all but begged.

"It's mommy and daddy who get the choice, not grandma," Vickie told Judy, giving her a huge grin.

Quinn sucked in a huge, quivering breath. She felt like her whole body was shivering with nerves. Did she want to know? Quinn blew out the breath, just as quivering. "Yes," she said, looking Puck in the eye. "Yes, we do. Wait," Quinn cried, just as Vickie was about to remove her hand. "Do we?" Quinn asked Puck. "Can you give us a minute? Please?" Quinn asked, looking to Judy and Vickie to leave the room.

Vickie turned the screen back round and flicked a switch. "So you won't be tempted," she said with a wink. Vickie stood up and encouraged Judy to leave with her. "You'd be surprised how often this happens," she confided to Judy, linking arms with her, taking her through the door, chatting all the way.

"What?" Puck asked. He stood up at the side of the bed that Quinn laid on, her neat little bump on display. Puck stroked his hand over the mound of their baby. "Don't we want to know? I thought we wanted to know. We said last night that we wanted to know," he reminded her of their conversation. They'd laid in bed, face to face, close together, whispering about their son, their daughter, coming up with ridiculous names like Zuckerman Puckerman and Carray Fabray.

"What if…what if it's a girl?" Quinn gulped, her eyes filling with tears, her lips quivering.

"So?" Puck shrugged, "we get a beautiful daughter," he answered. "And if it's a boy we get a badass son," he smiled. "Whatever it is, we can't change it now, there's no sending it back " he teased. "It'd be nice to know what we're getting, maybe paint the nursery pink or blue, start buying stuff. Might be good to know if we need to buy football boots or ballet slippers," he grinned, kissing her fingers again. "We cool?" he asked.

Quinn nodded. She felt stupid now. "Of course we want to know," she said. "What an idiot," she mocked herself, rolling her eyes. "Would you ask them to come back in, please?" she asked Puck, "but kiss me first," she added quickly.

"No problem," he mumbled against her lips. He straightened up a moment later, Quinn was still holding his hand. "You have to let go," he said with a laugh, "I can't reach the door from here," he said, demonstrating with his other arm outstretched. Quinn let go of Puck's hand for him to open the door to let Judy and Vickie back into the room.

"Nerves are gone," Puck told them, giving them a 'look what I have to put up with' smile and shake of his head. "And yes, we want to know," he told Vickie.

Judy barely contained a squeal of excitement, grabbing Puck's arm and squeezing it a little. "I am so excited," she whispered loudly.

"I sorta got that, Judy," Puck grinned. "Ok, we're definitely ready to meet…." he drew the word out. "Who are we meeting?" he asked Vickie.

Vickie flicked the monitor back on and turned the screen back their way. "It's my pleasure to introduce you to your…..daughter," she smiled, as always loving the look on the parents' faces when they knew what sex their coming child was. Vickie sighed. Most days she adored her job.

Quinn sucked in another breath, she couldn't help the trickle of tears that just wouldn't stop rolling down her cheeks. "Our daughter," she whispered, the memory of Dr Wu's technician coldly informing her and Finn that she was carrying a girl faded fast, replaced by the warm way that Vickie had told them, the way this little girl was being welcomed into the family. Welcomed in a way the Beth hadn't been, at least, not initially.

"A girl," Judy whispered. "Oh Quinnie, a little girl, oh," she couldn't control the tears either. "She's beautiful," Judy said again. "These 3D images are just amazing aren't they?" she asked Vickie. "It's almost like I can reach out and touch her, amazing," she breathed again, shaking her head in wonder.

Puck's smile just wouldn't quit. He didn't think it could get any bigger then he looked at the screen again and it did, it just did. "Hey baby girl," he whispered to the screen. "I can't wait to meet you," he said softly, taking Quinn's hand and kissing her fingers again. "You ok?" he asked. Quinn couldn't answer, she just held back a sob and nodded.

When they finally left the birthing centre with several copies of the ultrasound on DVD and quite a few pictures too, Quinn was feeling much better. Much more in control. "I can't believe I was making such an issue out of it," she laughed at herself. "What an idiot," she mocked.

"I called my mom, she's thrilled, they can't wait to see the DVD," Puck said, catching up with Judy and Quinn. "Did you call Orla yet?" he asked, taking Quinn's hand again.

"Not till we get home," Quinn replied, knowing that her sister would still be at work till after six.

"So now that we know it's a girl, do you want to stick with yellow in the nursery or would you like to choose pink or maybe lilac?" Judy asked.

"I think the yellow would be best," Quinn replied, rubbing her chin as she thought about it. Puck opened the truck door for her. "We'll see you at home later, we're calling to see Puck's family, give them a copy of the DVD," she told her mom.

"That's fine," Judy replied, kissing Quinn's cheek. "I'll have dinner ready for you for six," she told them.

They waved to Judy as Puck drove away. "I wonder if I can download that DVD to my ipad," Puck mused, thinking aloud. He turned to Quinn. "It'd be amazing to have that as my screensaver," he said with a huge smile. "The 3D picture's almost like looking at a photo, isn't it?" he said in wonder. "And we can start thinking seriously about a name for her," he added. "I know we were joking last night about Carray Fabray, but she's going to be a Puckerman," he announced firmly.

"I know that she is," Quinn agreed absently, still looking at the printed pictures.

"It needs to be something really cool and badass," Puck said, almost to himself as he waited for the lights to turn green.

"It needs to be girly," Quinn countered, looking at Puck. "Jackie Daniels is _not_ an option. Ok?" she asked, her eyebrow arching perfectly, her lips barely hiding a smile.

Puck returned the look, a half smile on his face. "Not Jackie Daniels," he agreed. "But she is going to be a badass," he insisted.

"Well, we have another twenty weeks or so to come up with something so I'm not going to worry about it just yet," Quinn decided. "Your mom and your Nana will be waiting to see this," she said, holding one of the DVDs up. "So," she sighed, feeling content with the world, "what amazing, marvellous surprise have you lined up for me for tonight?" she asked, looking at Puck expectantly.

"Tonight?" Puck asked, looking at Quinn with puzzlement in his eyes. "Thank you Finnocence," he thought to himself, keeping his worried, puzzled look in place. "Errm, what's tonight?" he asked.

Quinn glared. "What's tonight?" she repeated. "The hearts and cupids all over school today weren't enough of a give away?" she asked. "February fourteenth not enough of a clue?" she demanded.

"No-o," Puck stuttered. "Ha, wait till we get home," he thought. "I am so up on this romance shit. God I'm good," he thought, still managing to look confused and worried.

By the time Quinn had managed to control her disappointment they'd arrived at his mom's house. "Hey," Puck called, as he walked through the door ahead of Quinn. "We're here," he announced. "Ready to see Little Miss Puckerman?" he asked with a huge grin, holding up the DVD. "Here, see this picture, isn't she beautiful?" he asked, showing off the pictures they'd brought for his mom and Nana to keep.

"Oh my God," Naomi sighed, staring at the picture. "It's almost a photo, it's so clear. She is beautiful," she cried, hugging Quinn then Puck. "And now we know it's a little girl, do we have a name for her?" she asked, getting excited.

"Not yet," Quinn replied, smiling, seeing the happiness in Puck's mom, Nana and sister. They were all thrilled to watch the DVD, see the baby moving about, sucking her thumb. Puck sat beside Quinn on the sofa with his hand on her stomach while they watched. He was entranced all over again.

"Scarlett," Sarah suggested. "I love that name. Scarlett Puckerman," she sounded the name out, then looked at her brother. "Don't say I never give you anything," she added, "I just gave you an awesome name for my niece."

"Scarlett," Puck repeated the name, considering it. "It's cool, but it's not exactly a badass name," he told Sarah. "She's _my_ daughter, she has to have a badass name," he insisted.

"We'll think about it," Quinn told Sarah, not wanting to think her feelings would be hurt.

"Do we get to keep this?" Naomi asked, pointing to the TV. "And the picture?"

"Yep, they're yours," Puck replied, standing up and pulling Quinn with him. "We have to get moving, Judy is making dinner for us," he explained.

"Thank you for these," Naomi told them both, hugging first Quinn then Puck. "I'm going to take them in to work tomorrow and show off my beautiful granddaughter," she announced with an excited laugh. "Granddaughter," she exclaimed. "I'm going to be a Nana," she said, suddenly fearful. "Oh God, I'm old," she sighed.

"Thank you," Connie intoned, her voice flat, sarcastic. "If being a Nana means you're old, what the hell am I? I'm a great Nana," she pouted. "And it's all your fault," she told Puck as she poked him in the chest.

"Hey, don't blame me," Puck cried. "_She_ had the Nike shirt on," he said, pointing at Quinn.

Naomi and Connie looked at each other then him, totally puzzled. "Nike shirt?" they asked together.

"Yeah," Puck replied, smirking just a little. "The Nike shirt. 'Just do it'?" he explained with a grin, then dodged a slap from his mom, laughing at the expression on her face. "What? I thought it was an instruction," he teased, dancing away from Naomi, fending her off, laughing at her efforts.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Quinn told Puck. "You could be a really kind and thoughtful boyfriend and go warm up the truck," she added, looking at him expectantly.

The second Quinn was out of the room Puck pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a quick text. Naomi watched him without saying a word, she just gave him 'the look'.

"What?" Puck asked. Naomi still didn't say anything, she just crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. "Judy," he said, rolling his eyes. "I was texting Judy, telling her we're on our way," he muttered, checking that Quinn hadn't come back yet. "Quinn thinks I forgot its Valentine's," he confided in his mom, "but I didn't," he added quietly as he heard Quinn coming down the stairs. Puck went to start his truck, like a kind and thoughtful boyfriend.

"Could you possibly drive any slower?" Quinn asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Puck didn't reply, he just smiled and continued driving home in the same unhurried way.

The second they walked in the house Quinn shouted her mom. "Well she can't have gone anywhere," Quinn muttered sounding puzzled when she didn't get a reply.

There was soft romantic music playing in the den, the lights were low, a fire was blazing in the hearth, candles were dotted around the room and a huge bouquet of red roses graced the centre of the coffee table along with a small red box.

"Happy Valentine's," Puck murmured, leaning from behind Quinn to kiss the side of her neck, hearing her sharp intake of breath. "You thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?" he asked, smiling against her warm, fragrant skin.

Quinn couldn't speak, she nodded, her lips mashed together to keep from crying. Every day Puck managed to surprise her.

"Want to get comfortable?" Puck asked, "I'll go bring dinner," he said, taking Quinn's coat. "You can open it," he told Quinn with a wink, nodding towards the box. From the kitchen he heard Quinn's laughter.

Puck's gift to Quinn was just a little tongue in cheek, he'd searched for it on the internet. He'd bought her a keychain with a pair of golden testicles dangling from it. "Just in case anyone asks," he smiled as she looked at the gift. "Some of the guys think you made them into earrings, this is just to show them that you didn't. Plus," he shrugged, "I couldn't find any earring ones," he finished with a grin.

"So I can honestly say you handed me your balls?" Quinn grinned back, reaching

up to kiss him.

"Yep," Puck nodded, his lips in a tight smile. "You can keep those ones, I'll keep these ones," he added, grinding his crotch into her thigh. "But they're available for you to use at your leisure," he offered, completely unselfishly.

"Why, thank you," Quinn laughed back. "So generous," she mocked. "And obviously you get nothing out of it," she said with a roll of her eyes. Puck chose not to reply. He just winked and pressed against her again to remind her that he was available, ready and exceedingly willing.

Judy had made all of Quinn's favourite foods, succulent stuffed mushrooms, salmon with wild rice and an indulgent chocolate pudding with a gooey centre. Quinn adored it. Absolutely loved it.

Lounged on cushions on the floor, eating from the low table, Quinn sighed and moaned with each mouthful. "And you really arranged all this?" she asked for the fifth time.

"Yep," Puck replied, pouring Quinn another glass of sparkling grape juice. "I got Finn to make the CD of all your favourite smushy love songs, your mom did the cooking for me," he added, giving Judy her due. "She won't be back tonight by the way," he thought to tell Quinn. "She's staying at Monica's?" he said, not quite sure if he'd remembered which of Judy's friends she was staying with. "Want to get naked with me?" he asked, leaning towards Quinn to kiss her again.

"I think I just might," Quinn said with a smile, leaning towards Puck till their lips met.

"I have another gift for you," Puck suddenly remembered, jumping up. "I'll be right back," he called from the doorway. He ran upstairs quickly and grabbed the red package out of the drawer of his nightstand. This was the real gift, the other stuff had just been window dressing, stuff to let Quinn know he was putting in the effort, even though he'd had other people do the actual work for him.

Puck arrived back to the den within minutes. It had been enough time for Quinn. She'd stripped naked and arranged herself on cushions in front of the fire. "Wow," Puck said, looking his fill at her beautiful body glowing in the firelight. He felt his automatic reaction to her jump in his pants. He walked very slowly towards her. "You look amazing," he whispered and fell to his knees beside her.

With one hand beside her head, the other at her waist, Puck leaned across Quinn and burnt a trail of kisses from the mound of her stomach all the way up, between her breasts to her chin and finally her lips. Quinn's lips parted the instant Puck's touched them, her tongue venturing forth to make contact with his. They simultaneously experienced the mini nuclear explosion.

"I thought you wanted to get naked with me," Quinn reminded Puck breathlessly as his lips sought the pulse beating wildly in her throat. Quinn swallowed in an attempt to moisten her very dry mouth. She watched as Puck lifted his head and sat back on his heels. He raised his shirt, pulled it off and threw it behind him, keeping as much eye contact with Quinn as he could. He stood and pulled off his socks then his jeans and boxers, throwing them behind him too. He knelt back down, scooting to lie alongside her.

With Quinn still on her back, Puck lay on his side, beside her. He raised one knee then curved his hand round Quinn's thigh, lifting her leg over his. His lips were still finding, loving and teasing hers. Quinn's hand curved up around Puck's head, keeping their lips close. She sucked in a breath as she felt a nudge at her entrance. Her soaking wet entrance. "Hurry," Quinn pleaded, shifting a little to guide his passage into her depths.

"No rush," Puck whispered against her lips. He had one arm under her head, the other hand was teasing her nipples, back and forth, first one then the other.

"Please," begged Quinn, needing to feel him inside her, deep, deep inside her. "Please," she whispered against his lips, shifting again and again to find what her body demanded of him.

Puck couldn't refuse such desperation. He pushed inside her, keeping her leg lifted high. Puck's fingers collided with Quinn's to search out her hidden pleasure zone. Between them, they took her above and beyond. Quinn's contracting and relaxing rippling inner muscles tore the release from Puck, making him cry out and shudder. "Jeez," Puck whispered against her hair. "Those pelvic floor exercises are really starting to pay off," he grinned, leaning round to kiss her lips again. "That's some grip you got there," he added, pressing in to her again, feeling the tremors and aftershocks quivering through her.

Next day in school, Quinn was asked what Puck had bought her for Valentines. She had to make something up. On the drive home from school Quinn reminded Puck that they hadn't actually got round to exchanging gifts. They'd both brought them to the den but had spent the whole night in such a cloud of love that they'd forgotten about them.

Quinn adored the gold heart-shaped studs he'd bought her. Puck thought the set of guitar picks, each engraved differently, one with Puck, one with Quinn and one with Quick, were awesome. They continued their Valentine's celebrations for another couple of days.

The final rehearsal for Regionals went very, very well. As much as most people didn't actually appreciate the song, they all agreed that Rachel made it her own. Her voice filled the auditorium, the only slightly uncomfortable bit was when she locked eyes with Finn and sang the line "I am your lady, and you are my man," but everyone let that pass.

"Can I talk with you?" Finn whispered as he and Puck sat side by side in the auditorium while the girls got into costume.

"Sure," Puck nodded, looking at some of the props on stage and wondering how they could beef them up a bit. "S'up?" he asked, as Finn didn't seem to want to say anything else.

Finn was looking down at his hands and smiling, trying to find the courage to say the words. "I er..I met someone," Finn admitted, smiling even more. "We went on a date last night and it was…..it was great. He's great," he announced looking at Puck for his reaction.

"That's cool dude," Puck replied, and held his hand up for a high five. "Do I know the guy?" he asked, curiously.

"Probably not," Finn answered. "His name is Charlie and he sometimes delivers parts to the tire shop. He's in college, a sophomore and it's his dad's company that supplies Burt's shop with replacement auto parts," he explained.

"And?" Puck asked, waiting for more information. "Will you be seeing him again?" he added when Finn didn't seem to know what to answer.

"Tonight," Finn said with a smile. "I'm seeing him tonight."

"Cool," Puck nodded. "I'm happy for you dude," he told Finn, genuinely meaning it. "Are we going to meet him any time soon?" he asked.

"Oh, no. No. I think no," Finn stumbled to say. It had been one thing to finally get his feelings out in the open, tell the world who he really was, it was quite another to share that part of him with the people he had been closest to for years.

"Whenever you're ready," Puck said with a nod, getting it. "No pressure," he added with a smile as Quinn, Santana, Tina and Brittany stepped out on the stage for their part in Puck's solo.

Puck, Mike, Blaine and Sam stepped up on stage with the girls. The dance routine choreographed by Mike and Brittany was essentially a diamond formation, the four couples performing something of an American Smooth, with Puck singing the main part in Frankie Goes to Hollywood's version of The Power of Love. It worked well. Really well.

Finn, Artie and Sam took the lead in the Huey Lewis and The News version of The Power of Love from the film Back to the Future. They did a damn good job of it. All three songs, same titles, different songs, showcased something of everybody in the team. New Directions were feeling incredibly hopeful for Regionals.

"Ok guys," Mr Schue called before everyone left for the day. "I need you here by eight tomorrow morning, the bus will be leaving at nine. Ok? Everybody clear on that?" he asked. He received various nods and calls of agreement.

"So what is everybody doing tonight?" Sam asked, walking down the hall holding Mercedes' hand. "Want to get together for pizza, maybe?" he suggested.

"I'm busy," Finn, answered nervously with a glance at Puck.

"We could do pizza, if you feel up to it," Puck asked Quinn.

"Yeah," Quinn nodded, smiling. "We haven't been anywhere for ages," she sighed.

Brittany and Santana already had plans with a number of other Cheerios. The smirk that Santana sent Puck made Quinn dig her nails into his hand involuntarily. "I bet you'd give anything to see that, wouldn't you?" she breathed into Puck's ear, her hand on his chest, blocking his path. "Even though I love girls, I could still do you sometimes, if the wife will ever let you out of her sight," she added, giving Quinn a look that would drop a less confident person at fifty paces.

"Santana, first of all, I'm not _the wife_," Quinn replied for Puck. "Second of all, if he wanted to watch a load of bitches on heat he'd spend an hour at the kennels and third of all, he doesn't need my permission to go anywhere. But I'd stake my life on him being with me tonight and not you," she ended before walking away from the ever so slightly pissed off Cheerio. It wasn't that Santana wanted Puck, she didn't she just wanted to get a reaction from Quinn because a pissed off Quinn did something to Santana's insides that no one else had ever managed to do. Ever. Santana enjoyed the delicious little shiver of excitement that ran through her as she watched Quinn's retreating back.

The bus ride to Indianapolis took a little longer than expected. They had to stop several times for Quinn to use the restrooms. "Look, it's not my fault," Quinn attacked before anyone else could grumble. "Blame him," she cried, pointing at Finn. "And him," she added, pointing at Puck, seeing him smile. The glimmer of an answering smile tugged her own lips.

"And I maintain, your shirt was an instruction," Puck insisted. "You should have worn one that said 'Go Away Asshole' instead of 'Just Do It," he said with a grin, pulling Quinn onto his lap.

New Directions were third to perform in their Regional heat. They wished they'd drawn first slot, then if anyone else had the same idea for the requirement, it would be tough on them.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that Ms Sylvester had a hand in things again?" Artie asked a little nervously.

They all breathed a huge sigh of relief when the other two teams had performed without any duplication. The even bigger relief came when New Directions were announced as the winners.

On the ride home, Mr Schue decided a pep talk was in order. "We have twelve weeks to get ready for Chicago," he announced, standing at the front of the moving bus. "Twelve weeks to raise the money for the hotel, food. Twelve weeks to come up with three blistering, knock 'em dead numbers. This is it guys, this is your year, let's make it count," he shouted joyfully, clapping his hands. New Directions cheered and clapped with him. Twelve short weeks. Crap.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: No claim on the original.**

**A/N: D day draws ever closer. What hoops will Quinn manage to make Puck jump through before then?**

"Whatchadooin'?" Puck asked with a huge smile as he walked into the lounge after a long day cleaning pools.

"Building sandcastles," Quinn replied with more than a hint of sarcasm, her voice calm in the extreme. She nodded to the coffee table for Puck to pick up the brochure laying on it. He did. And wished he hadn't. "Zara left it for you to read through. I've already read it and this is what I want," she added in a tone that said "and don't even try to argue with me".

"You're serious?" Puck asked, leafing through the brochure. "A water birth? You want a water birth?" he asked, just to make sure he was reading it right. "I mean, I know I clean pools for a living but fuck, I won't be fixing _that_ with a leaf scoop and a dash of chlorine," he muttered quietly to himself as he read on.

"Yes," Quinn replied serenely. She was on the floor in the lounge, practicing her yoga and her breathing exercises. "A water birth. We can have the pool right here in the lounge, Zara can deliver our daughter in our home, surrounded by family and friends," she closed her eyes, slowly bending forwards along the length of her legs as low as her rounded tummy would allow. "No drugs, no stress, just love and serenity," she added, breathing out and straightening up. "Zara says we can do it, I don't have any medical issues, the pregnancy has been trouble free," Quinn's voice continued to flow melodically, her eyes still closed. "I want this birth to be totally different from Beth's birth, I want to be surrounded with peace, serenity, love," she said with a contented smile, her eyes still closed. "I _don't_ want pressure, doctors, hospital or drugs," she insisted.

"And if Zara says we can shit on a cloud are we going to sprout wings and fly up there to do it?" Puck muttered to himself, reading the brochure. "What about me? _I_ want the drugs. That entonox stuff is awesome," he grumbled and then finally noticed the music that was playing. "And will you stop trying to pollute our daughter's ears with all this new age crap?" he grumbled. "She's not even born yet and you're shoving this crap on her. _No way_," his attention was grabbed by yet another picture in the brochure. "I _know_ you're not expecting _me_ to get in the pool with you. Are you?" he asked, the guy in the picture was supporting his wife in the water. Puck glanced over the top of the brochure to Quinn. She was now looking up at him, her expression not quite as serene as it had been before. "I'll take that as a yes," he grumbled. "Don't I get a say in this?" he asked.

"When _you_ can push a baby out of _your_ body you can get a say," Quinn replied, rolling onto her knees and using the sofa to get up. "Such a gentleman," she mocked, "need a hand Quinn?" she asked herself. "Yes please Puck, thank you," she answered as she stood up without his assistance. "Until then," she continued, "you make damn sure your baby mama gets whatever makes her happy. And _that_ is a water birth, at home, with our family and friends around us and you in the pool too," she growled.

"Chill," Puck replied, taking a step back. "These mood swings are a bitch," he commented, trying not to smile. "I can deal with the water birth thing, even a home water birth but I am _not_ down with all of our friends being around while you're naked in a pool," Puck admitted. "I'm not sure most of our friends could stomach_ that_," he held open the page and pointed out the picture, captured when the baby was half in, half out. "And not just no but _fuck no_, to some pervert hanging round taking pictures of you for a brochure," he added, absolutely adamant about that.

"They don't have to actually be in here with us," Quinn agreed. "They can be in the kitchen or the den or whatever. But I'd like them in the house at least, so that they can meet Freya as soon as possible," she shrugged.

"We are not calling our daughter Freya," Puck told her. "I already told you that like a million times. Freya is out. Just ask Sarah. The nasty kid at her school is called Freya. I am not naming our daughter after a nasty kid. Especially not one with orange hair. And that's final. Ruby. Her name is Ruby," he reminded Quinn, nodding towards their daughter, nestling happily in Quinn's stomach.

"Freya," Quinn insisted, ignoring his argument once again. "And it's auburn, not orange," she corrected. "I'd like all of our friends to meet her the moment she's born," she said again.

Puck sighed and shook his head. "Did your mom agree to this?" he asked, glancing round the pristine lounge, the antiques and heirlooms that would have to be moved out of the way to accommodate the large birthing pool.

"My mom is happy for me to do whatever makes me happy," Quinn replied, confident about that despite not having yet asked.

"So you haven't asked her yet," Puck deduced. "And if she says no will you start guilt tripping her like you do to me?" he asked.

"My mom won't say no," Quinn replied with a smile. "My mom wants me to be happy," she insisted.

"_I_ want you to be happy," Puck retorted. "But I want you and our daughter to be safe too," he added.

"A water birth is safe," Quinn told him. She'd done her research, she knew they were safe and that most women needed a lot less pain relief, the water both soothing and supporting them through the labour.

"Can I hold judgement?" Puck asked. He wanted to do his own research first before he actually agreed to anything.

"You can hold whatever you want," Quinn replied, "but _I_ am having a water birth, at home and everyone important to us is going to be invited to attend," she said with a touch of finality in her tone.

Puck took the brochure and wandered into the kitchen. "Want a sandwich or something?" he called to Quinn while peering in the fridge.

"Yes please," Quinn replied from just behind him. "Ooh, no, just pass me the squirty cheese," she added hurriedly, reaching past to grab the tube.

Puck pulled a face as Quinn opened her mouth and squirted the cheese directly onto her tongue. "How can you even put that crap in your mouth?" he asked. "That's just gross," he added, gagging.

"Mmmm," Quinn sighed with exaggerated pleasure. She nudged Puck out of the way to study the contents of the fridge. "I've put a lot worse in my mouth and I didn't hear you complaining then, Puckerman," she mumbled. Puck had to agree, with the slightest hint of a smirk. He _never_ complained when she put _that_ in her mouth.

"Hi, I'm home," Judy called from the front door. "Can you give me a hand, please?" she shouted.

"No problem," Puck replied, walking towards her from the kitchen. "What have you been buying now?" he asked, seeing Judy struggling with a mountain of bags, all with the name of the most elite baby store in Lima emblazoned on them.

"Just a few things for the baby," Judy replied with a happy smile and a sigh of pleasure.

Puck looked at Judy with one eyebrow raised. "A few things?" he asked. "Judy, she's not going to have time to wear everything you've already bought her, even if she gets changed four times a day for the first month. You have to stop," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Judy said, trying her best to look apologetic. "No, that's a lie. I'm not sorry at all. I deserve this, Quinn deserves this and Freya deserves this," she finished with a triumphant smile.

Puck picked up the bags and took them to the kitchen. "We're _not_ calling her Freya," Puck insisted, feeling like no one was listening to him, feeling like he was being railroaded.

Quinn delved into the bags. "Oh this is so cute," she cried, lifting out a little yellow sleep suit that had little white fluffy lambs all over it. "Aww, look at that," she grinned, holding up a tiny pink tutu. "Freya's going to look so cute in that.

"_Ruby_ is going to be way too much of a badass to wear a tutu," Puck insisted. Quinn and Judy both glared at Puck. "I'm just saying," he muttered, opening the fridge again. "Anybody hungry?" he asked. "I feel a Puckerman Special coming on," he grinned, pulling ingredients out of the fridge.

On Sunday morning, Puck went over to his mom's house when Quinn and Judy went to church. "It's only me," he called as he let himself in. "Where is everybody?" he shouted from the bottom of the stairs when no one answered.

"We're up here Noah," Naomi called back. "Come on up," she added. "Come in," she answered when Puck knocked at her bedroom door.

"Oh God," Puck cried, covering his eyes as he entered his mom's bedroom. "This is not normal," he wailed. "Why did you tell me to come in? I could be scarred for life," he grumbled.

Naomi was sat up on her bed getting her toenails painted by Sarah. Nana Connie was lounged at the side of her, her toenails already sporting a bilious green colour that Puck hoped was nail polish. All three of them were still in their pyjamas, Connie and Naomi had curlers in their hair and face packs on. It looked like Sarah was having a beauty therapy day and they were the guinea pigs.

"Stop," Naomi laughed. "I bet you've seen worse sights," she added with a chuckle. Puck had to agree, he lived with Quinn after all and some of the things she did in the name of beauty absolutely boggled his mind. "So what brings you here this morning?" Naomi asked. "I thought you stayed in bed on Sundays while Quinn and Judy go to church?"

"Normally I do but I wanted to talk to you," Puck sighed sitting at the bottom of the bed behind Sarah, facing his mom and Nana.

"Careful," Sarah warned. "I don't want to smudge," she explained.

Puck looked at the rancid colour she was painting their mom's toes with and wondered if it would make a great deal of difference.

"So?" Naomi asked. "What did you want to talk about? Is it private?" she enquired, with a glance in Sarah's direction.

"No, not really," Puck shrugged. "Quinn wants a water birth," he explained then frowned waiting for his mom to have her input. "At home," he added.

"I think water births are cool," Nana Connie said with a smile. "They never did stuff like that in my day," she half complained. "I'd have had you in the water, if I could have," she informed her daughter. "If I hadn't gone swimming in the ocean with your father you wouldn't even be here," she muttered. "It's so not true that you can't get pregnant in sea water," she said to herself, looking up at the ceiling.

"Aarrgghh, Nana," Puck cried throwing himself sideways to lie across the end of his mom's bed, his hands over his ears.

"What?" Connie demanded. "Where do you think you all came from?" she glared at Puck. "Immaculate conceptions?" she asked. Puck didn't reply, he kept his hands over his ears and screwed his face up trying not to smile. He remembered a conversation about that once before, with someone else. He could hear it in his head. "S'up MILF?" and remembered the look that Quinn gave him.

"Anyway," Naomi frowned at her mother for saying such a thing in front of Sarah. "Water births. They're supposed to be much more relaxing than the delivery room and calmer," she said to her son. "Good for the mother and good for the baby. And apparently the mother doesn't need as much pain relief," she nodded to her mother.

"It's a myth that the Entonox is for the woman," Puck said with a grin, pushing himself up again. "It's not, it's for the guy when she squeezes the crap out of his hand," he said, then frowned. "That's not all of it," Puck said, looking even more whipped. "She wants me to be in the pool with her," he told them, feeling slightly sick at the thought of it.

"And?" Naomi asked. "You were there at the creation, you should be there for the big reveal," she told her son, wondering why he thought it was a big deal.

"And there's more," Puck added. "She wants all you guys there too. And Glee club," he told them, and watched his mom's and his Nana's faces light up with pleasure and excitement at being included.

Sarah stared at her brother, nail polish and brush held forgotten in her hands. "Ewww," she gulped. "Not in the pool though," she said, looking a little horrified. "Just in the house, right?" she asked.

"Not in the pool, but she wants you all in the room," Puck clarified. "She wants everyone in the room with us," he looked back at his mom's and his Nana's faces. They looked about ready to pee their pants. "It's not funny," he griped. "I can deal with the home birth thing, even a water birth but I'm not down with all the guys being in there with us, not with Quinn naked in a pool," he grumbled. "I'm not getting naked, I can tell you that straight away," he muttered.

"What does Judy have to say about it?" Naomi asked, trying not to laugh.

"Judy's down with whatever Quinn wants," Puck replied with a sigh. "And she insists we're going to call the baby Freya," he added, just to get a rise out of his sister.

"No," Sarah cried, "you can't call my niece Freya."

"I keep telling Quinn that," Puck agreed, feeling that at last someone was on his side. "I want to call her Ruby but Quinn says I gave Beth her name so it's her turn," he sighed. Puck looked again at his mom and Nana. "What?" he asked feeling even more affronted that his own mother and Nana seemed to be laughing at him.

"You," Connie replied, laughing. "You sound like a five-year-old," she told Puck.

Puck scowled. He _felt_ like a five-year-old. A five-year-old that no one was listening to. He felt like his opinion didn't matter and worst of all…no there wasn't a worst of all, that was it. But it was bad enough.

"So?" Connie asked. "What are you going to do about it?"

"In what way?" Puck asked, puzzled by what she meant.

"I mean, are you willing to compromise on anything?" she asked.

"I compromise all the time," Puck complained. "Quinn never compromises. She wants what she wants and she gets what she wants, screw my feelings," he finished with a mutter.

"Look," Naomi said, trying to be realistic as well as supportive to her son. "There's still what? Ten weeks to go?" she asked. Puck nodded. "In ten weeks Quinn could have changed her mind a hundred times about what she wants," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"She's already ordered the pool," Puck grumbled, fiddling with a stray piece of cotton sticking up from his mom's quilt. "And about a million scented candles and all that new age music crap," he added, sounding defeated. "And she wants me, _me_," he emphasised, "not her, me to invite everyone to be in attendance when she goes into labour," he sighed, falling back to lie across his mom's bed again.

"You can always come home, Noah," Connie said gently. "I can share with Sarah, you can have your old room back," she added, giving her daughter a covert wink.

Puck sat up abruptly. "No way," he cried. "I'm not _that_ pissed about stuff," he insisted. Then he glanced at his mom's and Nana's smiling faces, realising he'd been played. He gave a little snort of laughter and shook his head. "Maybe I just needed to get it all off my chest to someone who'd listen, right?" he asked, a slight smile twisting his lips. Naomi and Connie nodded and smiled back. "Cool," Puck said, standing up. "Thanks. I'm going home now, maybe they'll be back from church and I can tell Quinn I'm an asshole and she's right," he said, rolling his eyes. "Bye," he called as he ran down the stairs.

"He is so pussy whipped," Connie whispered to Naomi. Naomi just laughed.

"I heard that, Nana," Sarah said, sounding distracted, still concentrating on Naomi's toenails. Connie and Naomi had to work really hard not to giggle.

"Ok you guys, listen up," Puck said on Monday morning in the choir room. "We have an invitation for all of you," he announced. He waited for a few minutes for the cheers and the congratulations to die down. "Not that sort of invitation, assholes. A serious invitation. Quinn would like," he stopped abruptly as Quinn elbowed him in the ribs. "_We_ would like to invite you all to our home to be with us and support us when Quinn goes into labour," he told them all with a smile, feeling like an absolute turd. "We are planning for our daughter to be born at home, in a birthing pool and we would like all of our family and friends to be there to meet Ruby…" he stopped for a second and glared at Quinn when she stamped on his foot.

"…Freya," Quinn interrupted then stood back, smiling, her hands on her stomach.

"….our daughter," he emphasised at Quinn. "When she makes her debut," he finished with a self-conscious smile. He looked around at the stunned faces of New Directions. He made a whistling sound, like the wind blowing through the choir room. "Did anyone else see that tumbleweed? No? Just me then," he muttered. "Come _on_," Puck said, almost pleading, "somebody say something. Please?"

"Do we," Finn began then stopped and gulped. "Do we actually have to be _with_ you, with you?" he asked, his voice getting higher towards the end of his question.

"No," Puck answered with a little laugh. "Just in the house," he said, clearing that up for everyone. They had all thought the same obviously, because as one, the whole group let out a huge sigh of relief, then they all started talking at once, asking lots of questions. Quinn answered most of them.

"Oh my God," Santana cried. "You're going to actually make him get in the pool with you?" she asked, her face showing her distaste for the whole idea.

"Of course Puck will be in the pool with me," Quinn said brightly, as though this was the most natural conversation in the world.

"Sooner you than me, my friend," Sam whispered to Puck, not really even trying to hide his amusement.

Puck scowled at Sam. "Right back at you," he whispered. Then hoped Quinn hadn't heard him.

"You, Ms Corcoran and Beth are invited too Mr Schue," Quinn added. "We'd love for Beth to meet the baby as soon as possible," she sighed, her hands clasping just under her chin.

"I'll pass the invitation on to Shelby," Mr Schue said, sounding pleased to be included.

"So we'll really get to meet the baby as soon as she's born?" Rachel asked, sounding immensely excited.

"Yes," Quinn replied, her eyes shining. She really, really wanted everyone around her. Even Santana funnily enough. Well, they had been friends for like, forever. Or frenemies, sort of. Like sisters really. Who doesn't fight with their sister? Doesn't mean you love them any less.

"Count me in," Mercedes said, hugging Quinn close. "And I don't mind being with you while you're in the pool, I was there when you gave birth before, I can do it again," she said into Quinn's hair.

"I'd really like that Mercedes," Quinn replied, her eyes getting just a touch damp.

"Alright, we can talk about this later," Mr Schue called, bringing the class to order. "Artie, where are we on the funding situation?" he asked.

"We are just three hundred dollars short now but we have the bake sale coming up and if Puck makes his special brownies as well as his Nana's recipe cupcakes….." Artie told them all, reading from the ledger he kept tucked down the side of his chair.

"Please don't tell me anything about that," Mr Schue held up his hands, waving the information away. "I don't want to know any of the ingredients but can I just say, Puck, those cupcakes, awesome," he almost whispered the last part, raising both hands with only the little finger and the forefinger up, rock star style.

"Not in my mother's kitchen you're not," Quinn cried. "You are not bringing dru…" she was cut off by Puck slapping his hand over her mouth.

"Herbal substance and I'll bake at _my_ mother's, ok?" Puck answered, opening his eyes wide at Quinn.

"Does your mother_ know_ about this?" Quinn asked, her arms crossed over her chest, her foot tapping.

"She might not totally be aware of the full details yet, but she's cool," Puck lied.

Quinn stared, her eyebrow up just so, arched to perfection, her lips a straight line.

"Anybody else want to offer the use of their kitchen?" Puck asked, his eyes still locked with Quinn's. "Otherwise no brownies and just regular cupcakes."

"You can use my kitchen," Santana offered. "My parents will probably want a sample though," she grinned.

"Cool," Puck replied, finally looking away from Quinn. He smiled at Santana. "Wouldn't be the first time I've made brownies for your dad," he added, remembering past parties with a huge smile on his face.

"I really, really do not want to know about this guys," Mr Schue said walking away to the whiteboard. "But let's hope you can sell three hundred dollars worth. Ok, song choices. Where are we?" he asked. Puck gave Mr Schue a 'whatever' smirk.

"We've narrowed it down to the girls singing Edge of Glory, Rachel singing It's All Coming Back To Me and either I Would Do Anything For Love or Paradise By The Dashboard Light for the group number," Finn reminded everyone.

"I'm not sure about being included in the dance sequences," Quinn said, taking a seat and rubbing her hand over her tight belly. "I've practiced the Edge of Glory routine, great routine by the way, Brit," she added before getting back to her point. "But I'm just not sure, I mean, the competition is another two weeks away and I already feel like I'm overbalancing, you know?" she pouted.

The girls more than the guys looked at each other, chewing their lips. Mercedes turned to Quinn, sympathy on her face. "No, we don't know," Santana butted in, brutal and unfeeling as ever. "None of the rest of us ever got knocked up. Just you. Twice," she reminded Quinn.

"Thank you Santana," Quinn cried with fake cheerfulness. "Thanks for making me feel like an even bigger slut than you," she said, a sob catching her out as she finished speaking. Quinn turned and fled from the choir room. Well, waddled. At speed though.

"Well done," Puck growled at Santana then he raced off after Quinn. "Hey," he said as he caught up with her down the hall. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Outside for some air," Quinn sniffed, trying to hold back the tears. "I don't know why I always let Santana get to me," she grumbled. "If anyone else had said that I would have laughed it off, blamed you for having super-sperm or something but she just always knows the way to say something to touch a nerve. And it hurts," Quinn admitted. "It really, really hurts," she said, burying her face against Puck's chest.

"I know," Puck murmured into her hair, his hands rubbing her shoulders. "I know Santana can be a bitch, but it's just because she loves you, is in love with you," he said with a smile. "Now _that_ I'd like to watch if you ever decide to give girls a whirl," he added with a very naughty smirk.

"Don't you start being an asshole as well," Quinn replied, looking up at him with a watery smile.

"That's an improvement," Puck commented with a laugh. "Now I have to _start_ being an asshole?" he asked. "I thought I already was an asshole," he added, his hands cupping her face. "Don't let Santana get to you," he urged before giving her a sweet kiss on her forehead. "It's almost lunchtime," Puck reminded Quinn, seeing the clock on the wall. "Want to go have an hour in 'our' room?" he asked, hoping she'd say yes.

"Yes, but don't get your hopes up," Quinn advised. "I'm not feeling particularly sexy right now. More like a beached whale," she announced, glancing at her stomach.

"You are so sexy and you know it," Puck contradicted her. "You can turn me on with just a smile, looking at your body, well, it does things to me that should be illegal," he told her, a grin on his face, his hand drawing her head closer to his lips. "Feel that?" he asked, stepping up even closer to Quinn. "That's what you do to me. All the time," he reminded her, pressing his hard length into her. "We have to get out of here, right now, unless you want to give the rest of these goons a show they'll never forget," he breathed, hitching in another breath as Quinn's hand rubbed directly where his pants were tightest.

They made a swift exit to the old medical room just as the bell rang. Puck locked the door behind them. "We left our bags in the choir room," Quinn suddenly remembered.

"Minute," Puck managed to say, easing his phone from his pocket. He sent a text to Finn then tossed his phone on the cot. "Sorted," he announced as he touched her lips with his.

Half an hour later, both sated, spooned together on the uncomfortable cot, partially dressed, Puck murmured in Quinn's ear. "We both know that you're going to feel too uncomfortable soon to do this for a while."

"I know," Quinn sighed, her fingers trailing up and down the arm that held her tight against his chest. "But you'll still want to hold me, right?" she asked, her voice a little fearful, unsure of his response.

"Of course I will," Puck replied, shocked that she would think any different. "I'll always want to hold you tight to me while we sleep," he assured Quinn.

Quinn sighed, a more contented sound. "We should get back to the others," she stated although she made no effort to move.

"We should," Puck agreed, he didn't make an effort either.

"Shit, what was that?" Puck hissed in Quinn's ear jerking her awake too.

They both heard the second knock at the door. "Hey, it's Finn," Finn announced through the locked door. "Your bags are here, it's almost the end of lunch. Get your asses in gear," he advised. They heard his footsteps retreating.

Puck got up carefully and unlocked the door, peering out to make sure no one had followed Finn. The coast was clear. "Crap," he laughed just a little. "We must have been really tired to fall asleep on that thing," he said, smiling at Quinn, still blinking sleepily. "Come on, we have to get to class," he encouraged, helping her up.

Puck found Finn already in Spanish class after he'd safely seen Quinn to her history class. "Thanks man," Puck winked at Finn. "You're a life saver," he told him with a smile. "Did you all make any decisions in Glee?" he asked.

"Ah, Puck, there you are," Mr Schuester said in surprise. "I felt sure I'd seen you at some point this morning but strangely enough you went missing from Glee. And yes," he nodded, "we did make a decision. You're taking the male lead in Paradise. Any complaints see the rest of your team-mates."

"Who's taking the female lead?" Puck asked, swallowing nervously. "Please don't let it be Santana, Quinn wouldn't be able to handle that," he thought to himself.

"Quinn," Mr Schue announced. "And if she has any complaints, I suggest she takes it up with the group too," he sniffed. "Ok, quien me peude decir que realmente duramos la leccion? Who can tell me what we did last lesson?" he asked in Spanish. "Puck?" he turned his slightly accusing stare on Puck.

"Crap," Puck thought. "I can barely remember what I did yesterday never mind last lesson," then sat up straighter. "Hablamos de los alimentos de la region de Andalucía de Espana," he replied. "We were talking about food from Andalucía".

"Very good. Excellent," Mr Schue smiled. "You finally remembered something in my class that wasn't a song lyric, I'm impressed," he laughed. "Alright. Moving on….."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: No claim to Glee, a number of song references, no claim to them either.**

**A/N: Nationals...**

"Can this journey get any more boring?" Quinn grumbled, trying to get comfortable across the seat,propped up against the window, her legs across Puck's lap, her feet sticking out into the aisle.

"But the cool part is that we missed a whole afternoon of school," Puck reminded her. "Aww crap," he sighed. "I forgot to tell Mrs Rodgers that I wouldn't be there to do her pool tomorrow. I'll have to call my Nana, she can tell her at Temple tonight," he added, reaching for his phone, already resolving the problem.

"Ok," Finn shouted up the bus to catch everyone's attention. "Best car in the world?" he asked. He received numerous replies.

"No way," Sam, Artie, Mike and Finn shouted after Quinn had stated that the best car in the world should be something that could be classed as environmentally friendly. Puck didn't comment. They'd had this argument before. He hadn't won that one either.

"All right, all right," Finn tried something else. "Best city in the world?" he shouted, opening the question for everyone.

"New York," Rachel predictably replied, her mind as usual filled with all things Broadway.

"Paris," Tina sighed, hugging Mike's hand to her chest.

"I don't know," Quinn mused. "I like a lot of places for a lot of reasons," she replied. "Doesn't mean I want to live in one of them for the rest of my life," she added.

"Best animal in the world?" Finn asked. The answers ranged from polar bear to jaguar. No one quite understood Quinn's fascination with giraffes and everyone disagreed with her. "Why? Finn asked. "Why is the giraffe the best animal in the world? Explain it to me," he demanded.

"Because even though they're so tall, they only have the same number of bones in their necks that humans do," Quinn said with a smile. "And they have black tongues," she added, as if that made a difference.

"Another bust," Finn mumbled, getting fed up of the game. "All right, one last question. Best job in the world," he asked.

"Gynecologist," Puck shouted immediately, followed closely by an "oww" when Quinn smacked him round the head.

"Pervert," Quinn scowled at Puck.

Sam leaned over from the seat in front and high-fived Puck, sniggering with laughter. Santana leaned back from further down the bus. "Yeah, I can see the draw," she called, nodding thoughtfully.

"Mr Schue?" Puck called down the bus. "Mr Schue?" he waited till the teacher answered.

"Yes Puck?" Mr Schue called, looking up from his text messages.

"I'm a bit worried about the sleeping arrangements," he said, rubbing Quinn's legs, giving her a tight smile before leaning out into the aisle again.

"Sorry Puck, the girls are in one room, you boys in another," Mr Schue replied. "That's all we had the money for," he reminded them all.

"Sorry Quinn," Puck said quietly, sadly to her, giving her a little pout. "I tried," he said. Quinn showed Puck a sad face back.

"I hope someone's willing to rub my back for me to help me sleep then," Quinn whispered. "And help me out of the bathtub. And I hope there's a single bed because I don't think anyone else will put up with me twitching and tossing about all night when I can't get comfortable," she added, feeling like a burden to everyone. Especially Puck.

The miles between Lima and Chicago disappeared. New Directions laughed and joked, sang and even while still sat in their seats, danced a little. They stopped for bathroom breaks and for a meal. While Quinn made use of the restroom at the diner where they'd all had a pleasant enough meal, Puck had a quick chat with the other girls.

"Look, Quinn's feeling really uncomfortable right now, she only has eight weeks left till the baby comes," he reminded them. "She might not want to ask, but she might need help getting in and out of the tub, she can't sleep till her back's been massaged, especially real low down," he listed, checking over his shoulder that Quinn hadn't yet returned. "And if she asks you if she looks fat in something, for God's sake tell her no. Please?" he begged.

"It's cool, Puck," Mercedes assured him. "We'll take care of both of your girls for you," she said with a wink.

"Thank you," Puck replied, smiling at her, really seeing how supportive she had been of Quinn right from sophomore year, all through junior year and then through this, their senior year. Puck reached over the table and covered Mercedes' hand with his own. "Really, I know you've been a good friend to her, thank you," he repeated, feeling just a touch pathetic. He glanced round, hoping none of the guys had seen his 'girly' moment.

Quinn returned to the table and sat down, out of breath. "Phew," she puffed. "Ten steps up to the bathroom," she complained. "Who's stupid idea was that?" she asked, holding her hands out. "A stupid man's, obviously," she answered herself. "What did I miss?" she asked, looking at Puck.

"Nothing," he smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek. Quinn turned at the last second, their lips just touching, making Puck smile even more. "What would I do with my life without you in it?" he thought to himself. "And to think I almost believed what I told other people when I said I was over Quinn Fabray," he added in his head. He heard a shout of laughter and wondered if he'd said that out loud. He glanced around and saw Mike and Sam performing a weird sort of dance and some of the others laughing and clapping along.

"Ok," called Mr Schue. "Time to get back on the road," he said, clapping, encouraging everyone to move it along.

"Oh no," Quinn pouted and fake sobbed. "I am so over this bus ride already," she grumbled. "My back is killing me, I have cankles. Look," she pointed to her neat little feet. "Cankles," she repeated, disgusted with it all.

"You can put your feet up on me when we get back on the bus and I'll massage them for you," Puck offered quietly, helping her to get out of her admittedly tight seat.

"And my ass fills this chair," Quinn grumbled. "This is so not cool," she said with a frown.

Quinn slept almost the rest of the way to Chicago. Puck absently massaged her feet while talking to some of the others, the guys especially had all congregated in the seats near Puck. They'd discussed everything from their last year's football triumphs to this year's basketball massacres and then the thing the guys really wanted to talk about but were too chicken to bring up to start with, how was Puck going to feel actually being in a pool with Quinn while she gave birth.

"I have no idea," Puck answered honestly. "And at first I was totally grossed out, I mean, I've seen what happens down there," he reminded them. "And we've been to all the birthing classes, watched the DVDs, spoken to new parents and to be honest, I'm kind of cool with it now," he admitted, looking sideways at Quinn's face as she slept. "And I want to support her, in any way I can," he told them, still looking at Quinn.

"Is that why you've spent the last hour massaging her feet, even though she's asleep?" Sam asked. Puck didn't answer, he just gave his trademark smirk and continued to rub and soothe Quinn's tired and swollen feet.

"It's because he's good at it and he knows what sort of things get him the good rewards," Quinn said tiredly, her eyes still closed, her face turned in to the back of the seat. "But thank you," she added, "I really appreciate it," she finished with a sleepy smile.

"My pleasure," Puck returned with a smile of his own as he noticed Quinn's eyes open just a slit. "if this is the only way I can touch you till we get home," he shrugged.

"I'm sure we can find a way," Quinn whispered, winking a tired eye at him.

"Ohh" came the noise from Sam, Finn, Mike and Artie. "Time we weren't anywhere near these two," Artie added, holding his arms up for Finn to carry him further down the bus.

"The further away the better," Finn agreed, turning back to see Puck wink at him before leaning out of sight, back into the space provided for the seat he and Quinn occupied.

"What did you have in mind?" Puck whispered as he helped Quinn to re-position herself on his lap, now that he had moved to the window seat.

"Not too much," Quinn admitted, "but I do love sitting on your knee," she said with a wink. "Especially when you do that," she said as she felt the hardening length of him flex against her thigh. They didn't get too adventurous, they weren't into exhibitionism after all, but they did enjoy a few kisses, touches, until the bus stopped outside their hotel.

"This is the boys room," Mr Schue announced, opening the door to a large multi-bedded room, with the key card the receptionist had provided. "Boys, stay here," he instructed. "Girls, this way," he guided them across the hall and opened the door to an identical room. He carried Quinn's bags in for her, he didn't want any excuse for Puck to be in this room with the girls, he had enough to worry about.

After they'd got settled, it was late enough, no one was hungry for more than a snack. They all congregated in the boys bedroom. Mr Schue hadn't said anything about that, just that the boys weren't allowed in the girls room. Puck had pushed a little and Mr Schue had qualified it to 'except under extreme circumstances'.

The quiet jamming session was fun. A lot of old songs bringing up lots of memories found their way to the fronts of peoples' brains. Lots of sentences started with "Do you remember when we…..". Rachel said it. A lot. She was feeling very, very emotional. Kurt had inadvertently let it slip that Finn was seeing someone. Finn refused to give any details which was really messing with Rachel's head.

"Look, dude," Puck said quietly to Finn when they went down the hall to get some ice. "If she can't perform tomorrow because of this, we are screwed. And I did not drag my baby mama all this way for nothing," he hissed as a couple of guys who looked like they could possibly have been from a rival team walked past them, staring at them. "Talk to her, tell her about Charlie, tell her everything, but stop screwing with her head," Puck ordered on their way back to the room.

"I will," Finn agreed. "I'll talk to her," he said just before Puck opened the door.

"Hey," Puck nodded at Quinn. "Feeling ok?" he asked. "How about I massage your back right now for you then carry you across the hall to your own bed?" he offered with a smile, crouching down to her eye level.

Quinn nodded, giving Puck a sad little pouting smile. "I'd much rather have you do it when I'm in bed but this will have to do," she said softly, stretching just a touch to kiss him. "Think anyone will mind if I go get my pj's on? I kind of want a bath. All the girls are in here, you could come and help me for ten minutes, we could use that as an extreme circumstance," she explained, nodding encouragingly. "I don't want the other girls to see my stretch marks and stuff, they're gross. Especially not Santana," she pouted.

Puck winked at her and stood up. "Ok, listen up," he announced. "I'm going across the hall with Quinn. I'm helping her with her bath and stuff then we're coming back in here once she has her pj's on. Any objections? No? Good," Puck said with a decisive nod. "Come on then," he told Quinn tugging her up and leading her across the room and out. "See," he said once they were in the girls' room. "That's how to do it," he winked then dropped a light kiss on her lips.

"Thank you," Quinn replied, feeling very, very appreciative. And just a tad weepy. "I'll get my stuff ready if you'll run my bath for me," she asked, smiling nicely.

"How can I resist?" Puck grinned, kissing her a little deeper before disappearing into the bathroom.

Quinn was just about ready with her stuff when someone knocked at the door. "Oh, Mr Schue," she said, startled.

"Quinn," Mr Schue sighed. "I might have known. I am so disappointed in you two," he said, shaking his head.

"What?" Puck asked, coming out of the bathroom drying his hands. "Quinn, your bath's ready. It's a really deep one, high sides, you'll need a hand. Is that ok Mr Schue? Or should I shout one of the girls to help her?" he asked, his face not showing any emotion.

"Sorry, go ahead," Mr Schue replied, feeling a little idiotic. He needed to learn how to trust them more. They'd be graduating in just a few weeks, parents shortly after that. "Get a grip William," he mocked himself. "Just because that's what you would have done," he murmured. "Don't tar everyone with yours and Terri's brushes," he said, looking round to see if he'd been overheard when he realised he'd said it out loud.

Puck helped Quinn into the bath and washed her hair for her. He helped her out and once she was dry he helped her to put her lotion on, hitting the parts she could no longer reach and some he just enjoyed reaching.

"What are you doing in….oh," Rachel broke off in surprise as she caught sight of Quinn in a complete state of nudity.

Quinn was stood at the end of the bed, her hands on Puck's shoulders. Puck sat on the bed in front of her, his face in line with the top of her baby bump, his hands moulding her stomach. Quinn turned as did Puck, both of them ceased all movement. Rachel opened and closed her mouth several times. She stood with her hand on the door, ready to close it. She forgot to actually do that though.

"Errm, Rach?" Puck finally said. "Want to close the door please? I think enough people have walked past and looked in now," he nodded, glancing up into Quinn's eyes. At least she'd managed to cover her boobs with her arm.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked again, sounding more than a little scandalised, as she closed the door.

"Putting her lotion on," Puck answered, picking up the bottle from beside him on the bed. "Helps with the stretch marks," he explained, hoping Rachel understood. "We weren't getting it on, Rachel, God, don't shit in your shorts," he mumbled, rolling his eyes at Quinn and making her smile just a touch. "It's one of my favourite things to do, ok?" he grudgingly told Rachel. "It's like spending time with the baby before she gets here, you know? I mean, Quinn has twenty four hours out of twenty four with her," he shrugged. "I just get a few minutes here and there to spend some really special time. Forget it, you wouldn't understand," he sighed. "Go. Run and tell Mr Schue you found us in here and I was fondling Quinn," Puck said then sighed even deeper knowing that he'd probably end up in some sort of trouble with their teacher. He usually did.

"No," Rachel replied softly, shaking her head. "Noah, that was beautiful, what you just said there. I mean it was sort of romantic, really deep and not at all like you," she said in wonder.

"You've no idea Rachel," Quinn whispered, looking down into Puck's smiling eyes. "He _is_ special and sweet and romantic and he's a good guy," she finished on a whisper, Rachel forgotten in the face of the happy, loving smile from Puck.

"Here," Puck said, trying to hide how affected he was by Quinn's words. "Let me help you get these on then we'll go back across there and I can rub your back for you. Ok?" he asked, holding her pyjamas for Quinn to step into.

"Thank you," Quinn said huskily, standing on tiptoe to place a tiny kiss on the edge of Puck's mouth once he'd stood up, after she was dressed.

"My pleasure," Puck replied with an even more husky voice. "Although I prefer getting you out of clothes instead of helping you to get in them," he added. "Just so we're clear on that," he grinned. Quinn didn't reply, she didn't need to.

Back in the boys' room there had been quite a bit of speculation as to why they had taken so long.

"Well Q, I'm impressed," Santana said, trying to keep a straight face. "I didn't think you'd be up for a threesome in your condition but you seem to have proved me wrong. Congratulations," she nodded.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Santana," Rachel demanded, disgusted that she could say something like that about her friend. "I have just witnessed the most wonderful, generous, tender thing it has ever been my privilege to see," she told them all, tears getting ready to fall. "Noah, not being in the least bit sex shark-y, not being his usual self, but being a warm and loving father. I'm proud of you Noah," she told him, looking at Puck with pride and pleasure. Puck was embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.

"But that's the Puck I see almost all the time," Quinn explained to Rachel, to all of them. "It's the Puck that helped me to realise that we will be ok. We will be fine and in ten or twenty years, we'll still be Quick," she said, smiling shyly at Puck. They hadn't really talked much about the future, certainly nothing much beyond July fifth. Puck smiled back at her, even more embarrassed but he still loved to hear the words.

"Ok, who's going to move over?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence. "Give us some room here," he said. He nodded his thanks at Sam as he moved to sit behind Mercedes instead of next to her leaving half the bed for Puck and Quinn. Puck made sure that Quinn was comfortable first, sitting leaning forwards a touch, her arms supporting her. He knelt behind her, his knees open wide bracketing her hips. He rolled up her pyjama top, tucking it inside its self to bare her back. "What were you all talking about in here?" he asked, getting busy with massaging Quinn's lower back.

"What we should sing at graduation," Mercedes replied. "We've come up with a few ideas, what do you all think?" she asked Quinn, Puck and Rachel.

Quinn didn't reply, she just groaned as Puck worked the kinks out of her muscles, tired and sore from the long journey.

"Nope, don't know that one," Puck teased, leaning over Quinn's shoulder a little. "How does it go again?" he asked, making her groan again. She didn't answer, she just looked back over her shoulder with that one eyebrow up. "Enough?" Puck asked, pressing lower, just dipping into the waist band of her pants.

Quinn sighed and nodded. "Yes, thank you," she said quietly, leaning back as Puck leaned forwards for just that little touch of lips.

Puck scooted back till he was propped up on the pillows. Quinn managed to do the same till she was laid back against his stomach, his knees up providing arm rests for her. Pucks hands rested on Quinn's bump. "Wow, that was a really good kick," he said in wonder, as always, awestruck when he felt their little girl move inside Quinn. He pulled Quinn's top up at the front to watch the movement of her stomach.

"Stop," Quinn cried, trying to pull it back down, not wanting to be on display to everyone.

"No," Puck refused. "It's beautiful, amazing to watch," he told Quinn. "And don't forget I've got two nights when she can't kick me out of bed," he remembered with a smile. "Whoever's sharing with Quinn, watch it," he warned. "This badass chick can give you a real kicking," he nodded. "Oh yeah," he grinned. "Just like her daddy, she likes to kick ass," he laughed.

"My daughter does not kick ass," Quinn said primly. "She merely knows when her daddy is being lazy and needs to get up," she added with a hidden smile. Quinn patted her bump. "Don't you Freya? You know when daddy needs to get up for school," she said.

"We're still not calling her Freya," Puck insisted. "I don't care how many times you say it, it's still not her name. Her name is _Ruby_," he insisted yet again. "How many songs do you know with the name Freya in?" he asked. "Anyone? No?" he asked around the room. No one could come up with anything. "How many songs with the name Ruby can you think of?" he asked and waited for the answers to roll in.

"Ruby, Kenny Rodgers," Sam shouted, raising his hand.

"Ruby, Kaiser Chiefs," Artie added.

"Ruby Tuesday, Rolling Stones," Finn called, lifting his hand.

"Ok, ok, I get it," Quinn covered her face with both hands. "Urgh," she grunted. "You really hate the name Freya, don't you?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. Puck nodded. "And you love the name Ruby?" she asked. Puck nodded. "Ruby Puckerman," Quinn said quietly to herself. "Ruby Puckerman," she repeated. "I can live with Ruby," she sighed.

"Yay," Puck shouted, leaning forwards to wrap his arms round Quinn, kissing her over her shoulder. "I'm really glad about that," he admitted, "you might be able to tell," he teased, laughing at himself. It made the gift he'd bought in readiness to give to Quinn after the birth of their daughter that much more significant. But he wasn't going to share that with her yet. Not just yet. In eight weeks or so, not yet.

A short while later the girls all retired to their room. Tina and Mercedes were sharing one bed, Santana and Brittany the second bed and Quinn and Rachel the third bed.

"It really was a beautiful moment," Rachel whispered to Quinn. "I envy you," she admitted quietly. "Not the baby," she hurried to explain, she didn't envy Quinn that part. No, the part that Rachel envied was the easy, natural, comfortable way that she and Puck had with each other. "It's like through all the drama and stuff, you've grown up, learned how to be considerate of each other, how to be together," she finished, wondering if she'd explained it properly. "In September, I'm going to New York," Rachel whispered. "I know I'll miss Finn and the rest of you guys, but I have to follow my dream," she revealed. "And even though I didn't get in to NYADA I'm not going to let that stop me. I'm a fighter, I'll get what I want, I'll get my dream, just wait and see," she promised.

"I believe you," Quinn whispered back. "I want tickets for your debut performance. I don't care what show it is, I want tickets, ok?" she grinned, both girls smiling to hold back the unexpected emotion. Rachel promised to send tickets to her first show.

On Saturday morning, four hours before the competition started, Mr Schue found which performance slot New Directions had drawn. He looked around a little uncomfortably. It wasn't the end of the world, but it wasn't the best either. Slap bang in the middle, really the most forgettable slot of all. In National Show Choir competition history, not one team had ever won from the middle slot. That was just the sort of information they had all become used to Artie having at his fingertips. They weren't exactly filled with confidence when he told them this though.

"Ok guys," Mr Schue began, his face showing the strain a little more than he'd hoped. "So we've drawn number thirteen," he said with a tight smile, he tried to ignore the groans. "Hey, it's just a number, right? Right?" he nodded, aiming for enthusiastic. "None of the other teams have what we have, right?" he asked, nodding, rolling his eyes when they all looked back at him just a little puzzled. "Mama and papa over here," he pointed to Quinn and Puck, "singing a teenage love story," he explained with a grin. "All right, let's do this," he called, putting his hand in, everyone circled up and copied. They all cheered and raised their hands, pumped and ready for the competition.

Rachel's solo was perfection. Mike and Tina danced behind her, a sultry sort of dance, mimicking the moves that Rachel sang, Mike hugging Tina from behind when she sang 'when you touch me like this', Tina turning in his arms when Rachel sang 'when you hold me like that', it worked really well. The applause at the end of the song made Rachel smile, a huge genuine smile, the most she'd smiled in quite a while.

The girls, led by Santana, singing Edge of Glory with a dance routine to rival something that the Cheerios would perform played to all of their strengths. Quinn didn't take part in it, she couldn't quite manage the moves anymore. The set was still amazing though and it was unlikely that anyone else even realised that there should have been another performer among them, the girls did so well.

Finally the group number. Puck and Quinn were off to the side on a podium, singing the story with the rest of the team taking part in a huge dance number. It was brilliant. Puck and Quinn danced a little too, but much less energetically, more like two teens getting it on, hardly able to keep their hands off each other but all tastefully done, definitely PG. And then the final part when they broke away from each other to stand, backs facing, the occasional disgusted, accusing glance at each other over the shoulder, Puck repeating his line of 'it was long ago, it was far away and it was so much better than it is today', Quinn repeating her line over and over, 'it never felt so good, it never felt so right and we were glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife', till the end of the song, the girls falling in with Quinn, the guys singing with Puck. Classic Meat Loaf. Brilliant.

The audience loved it. So too did the judges apparently. For the first time in Show Choir history, the team from the centre slot won Nationals! New Directions and Mr Schue were ecstatic. Saturday night became the biggest celebration in New Directions' brief history. Mr Schue treated everyone to dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant, Ristorante Quartino.

The ride home on Sunday was a lot louder, happier and felt far shorter than the ride to Chicago had. The magnificent trophy took pride of place at the front of the bus. Now they just had to brave that first step through the doors on Monday morning. Eeek.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: No claim whatsoever.**

**A/N: A plan for the future maybe?**

Judy had a wonderful celebration meal ready for them when they got home on Sunday evening. Naomi, Connie, Sarah, Orla and Dale were all waiting to celebrate with them.

"I am so proud of you," Judy cried, hugging Quinn over her shoulders, behind her at the table as everyone sat ready to eat. "And how marvellous that the organisers filmed all of it," she said once again as she stood to bring yet more food to the table. "We can watch the DVD after we eat. I'm so please you brought a copy with you," she sighed.

"Mom," Quinn called, cutting in to Judy's excitement. "Sit down, eat your dinner before it gets cold," she encouraged. "If we want any more we can serve ourselves," she reminded Judy, everyone nodded and murmured in agreement.

"So you have four more weeks of school," Naomi reminded them both as they ate. "What comes after?" she asked, daring her son to state the obvious.

It was a dare he couldn't resist. "Then we wait another four weeks and ta-dah," Puck replied, both hands indicating Quinn's quite large stomach.

"That's not exactly what I meant Noah and you know it," Naomi returned quite seriously. "What are your plans for after school?" she asked.

"Actually," Puck began, watching Quinn's face as he said it. "I have been looking into something. It sort of goes hand in hand with what I do now, gives me scope for expansion," he explained, starting to get a little nervous.

"Go on," Quinn encouraged, interested to see where Puck would be going with this.

"Well, there's a course they run at Owens Community College that I can do part time, mostly online, I'd just have to go to Findlay a couple of times a month," he started, without really explaining anything. Puck looked down, fiddling with his silverware, not looking at anyone, he didn't want to see the incredulous looks in their eyes when he said the next part. "It's a landscape management program," he said, then he turned a little in his seat and looked at Quinn, expecting to see shock and amazement. He didn't expect to see the pride, joy and love too. "I got ambition," he said a little quieter, "get us a house, stuff, furniture," he added, shrugging just a touch, wondering if she remembered the last time he'd said something like that to her.

Quinn's hand went to Puck's chest and slid up to his shoulder. She looked into his eyes, everyone else at the table had faded away, there was just the two of them, the three of them. "I'm so proud of you," she managed to say, her voice just a whisper, before he hauled her close to hug her tightly.

"I haven't graduated yet," Puck reminded Quinn very, very quietly. "Will you help me?" he asked.

"Of course I will," she breathed into his ear before they broke apart to hear what the rest of the family thought of Puck's plan for the future.

"Well I think it's marvellous," Connie stated, sitting back just a little. "You can build your business up from just doing pools and yard work to doing the whole package, pools, gardens and landscaping," she nodded, impressed. "I have a little something put by, I can help you if you need me to," she offered.

"Thanks Nana," Puck smiled then looked at Quinn, holding her hand under the table. "But we got this," he assured her, taking a sip of his water.

The celebratory mood continued , especially when New Directions' performance came on screen. Judy insisted on watching their part over and over until Puck urged Quinn to go to bed, she looked absolutely washed out.

"We have finals coming up, she needs her sleep," he said, kissing his mom and his Nana before they left. "So what do you really think of my idea?" he asked his mom. So far, she hadn't said much of anything at all.

"I am so proud of you Noah," she whispered as she hugged him. "There were times there over the last few years when I wondered if you would ever even want to make anything of yourself, I was scared for you," she admitted. "But now, the baby almost here, working hard, college, I just," she broke off, her lips pressed tight, shaking her head, tears just ready to fall. "I'm proud of you Noah," she said again.

Puck helped Quinn up to bed, she was absolutely exhausted. Long into the night, he stayed awake, feeling their little girl dancing under his hand, whispering to her while Quinn slept. Puck felt too wired, too full of energy to even close his eyes.

New Directions gathered at the school entrance on Monday morning, every one of them as nervous as if they were about to step on stage. Artie was at the front, the huge trophy on his knee, Finn ready to push his wheelchair.

"Are we all ready for this?" Finn asked, looking at everyone in turn. "We can do this, let them give it their best shot," he called.

The doors opened and even though they were all prepared for it, the sight of hundreds of McKinley students lining the hall at least two deep, made them each suck in a nervous breath. The silence was eerie. As they walked in, Puck instinctively stepped just ahead of Quinn, protecting her from whatever onslaught was heading their way. By the looks of things, the huge cups in just about everyone's hands being the indicator, it was going to be mass slushie facials. Not at Quinn, not if Puck could help it. They could throw ice at him as much as they liked but no one had better throw anything at _his_ baby mama.

The first wave of fluttering red and white confetti pieces was thrown amidst deafening cheers that reverberated around the halls. The congratulations from the whole student body were just huge. Genuine and huge. Even Sue Sylvester gave her grudging congratulations. Mr Schue was immensely proud of his team.

"We need a set list for prom, don't forget," Mr Schue reminded them all as the bell rang to signal the end of the day. "We need it by Wednesday at the latest so that Principal Figgins can approve it ready for Saturday night."

"Who's up for coffee at Lima Bean tonight?" Mercedes asked. They had more of a chance of working out a set list if they were all together, relaxed and chatting.

"We can come after parenting class," Puck said, walking down the hall holding Quinn's hand. "We can't miss this one, it's the last one," he told them.

"So if we meet at say, eight?" Finn suggested. "And I'm bringing a friend," he added, looking and sounding just a little nervous.

"Cool," Puck nodded. "Proud of you buddy," he told Finn quietly, knowing how hard this was for Finn to share with the group. He also knew it possibly could be just a little hard on Rachel too, he hoped she'd be able to cope with it.

Judy had left dinner prepared for them for when they got in knowing they would be leaving early for their class. "Where's mom," Quinn asked Orla.

"I don't know, she said she was going out and she'd see us later. She said to tell you to enjoy class," Orla replied, just a little puzzled.

"Oh," Quinn nodded. "Ok, well, we're going for out coffee with friends after class," she told her sister. "We're working on a set list for prom on Saturday," she said, pulling a face. "I don't even know if I want to go," she added, "I haven't found a dress that I like that I can fit this," she held her bump, "into," she ended with an even bigger pout.

"You're not _that _big," Orla replied, rolling her eyes at Quinn's dramatics. "Surely there's something you can find."

"Well I feel like a whale," Quinn bounced back at her sister, pouting and frowning.

"Why the face?" Puck asked as he joined them.

"She doesn't have a dress for prom," Orla explained, sharing just the hint of a secret look with Puck. Luckily Quinn was still pouting down at her stomach and didn't see the 'ha ha we got a secret' face that Puck pulled at Orla. They knew exactly where Judy had gone. She had driven over a hundred miles to go and collect an old friend of hers. Judy was bringing Sheila back with her to make a dress for Quinn, the only person they knew who would be able to do it in just a few days. Connie was on standby to help with the sewing. Quinn had no idea. "And she feels like a huge humpback whale," Orla added with a grin.

"I didn't say that," Quinn denied. "I just said I feel like a whale, you added the other bit," she grumbled.

"Let's get moving, Slick," Puck announced, landing a decent slap on Quinn's ass as he passed. "We don't want to be late for class," he reminded her.

"You know," Quinn said musingly, picking up her purse, "those are words I never ever expected to hear coming out of your mouth," she said, winking at her sister. "Bye, see you later," she called over her shoulder to Orla and Dale.

"Are you going to tell anyone else about your college plans?" Quinn asked on the drive to the birthing centre.

"No, not till I actually get in," Puck replied, watching the traffic. "I still need to get my geography grade up from a D+ to at least a C+," he sighed, "and American history from a D- to a C," he added. "We only have a few weeks, do you think you can manage to tutor me as well as study for your own tests?" he asked.

"Sure," Quinn replied confidently. "I have ways of making studying interesting for you," she teased with a sexy little smile.

"You know that would work better if we could actually still do it, don't you" Puck replied, giving her half smile back. "But I'm willing to fool around, all in the name of study of course," he added as though doing Quinn a favour, "if you are," he finished with a wink.

"Good," Quinn replied. "And I'm sorry I don't feel up to it just now, I know it gets _hard_ on you," she breathed, just a hint of Jessica Rabbit in her tone and the look she sent Puck's way. "But you know, we don't have to have sex, to have sex," she added, tracing her tongue around her lips, sliding one finger between her shining lips, her tongue teasing the tip of it as she looked at Puck through her lashes, the hint of a smile starting to form.

"It's more than fucking hard right now," Puck growled. "I could hammer nails right now and that's just from watching you do that finger thing," he muttered. "Let's hope we get the set list done quick, then we can get home and _study_," he groaned as Quinn moaned in agreement, closing her eyes, letting her head fall back a touch and her mouth fall open, her breath escaping in a sigh. Puck pulled up in the parking lot at the birthing centre. He quickly shifted across the bench seat to bring Quinn's mouth to his. It was the hottest kiss they'd shared in a while but God, it had been worth the wait.

Their last parenting class was good, they had fun with all the other people taking the class, it turned out to be a little bit of a celebration. "And don't forget," Antonia, the instructor, called just before everyone left. "We are a community, we aren't alone. If there is ever a time when you aren't sure of something, need some advice or just a friendly ear, we are all here," she finished with a smile. "Alright?" she asked, receiving nods and mumbles of agreement from the whole group. "Alright, thank you all for attending and I wish every one of you the very best with your babies. And we're here for every one of you," she said again, waving as people departed. Puck had been surprised at how much he had enjoyed the informal classes. Both he and Quinn had learned a lot. They were lucky in that when their baby came they wouldn't be returning home to an empty house with just the two of them to rely on, they had the support of Judy as well as his family, but they were under no illusions, it was still going to be a lot of hard work.

"What can I get you?" a vaguely familiar voice asked as the gathered members of New Directions settled themselves at a large table outside Lima Bean.

"Jesse," Rachel breathed, shocked and delighted at seeing her ex boyfriend. Not particularly at seeing him serving coffee, but delighted to see him in the flesh.

"Rachel," Jesse replied, just as surprised, but not dismayed either.

The rest of New Directions waited until Rachel and Jesse had taken the longing stare, the silent, breathless eye fuck to a new level before Puck interrupted them.

"Any chance of a coffee over here?" he asked, "We have plans later," he added. "Studying," he corrected the few raucous suggestions that flew around the table. "Purely studying, we have finals coming up," he reminded them, "and contrary to popular belief, I do actually want to graduate," he informed his friends with a self-conscious grin.

"Sorry," Jesse apologised, his eyes still flicking back to Rachel every other second or so. He took their order and went inside to get it filled.

"So, what are we singing for prom?" Puck asked as they waited for their coffees and iced fruit drinks. He wanted to get things over quickly so they could get home and 'study'. "I think we should do the mash up we sang for Coach Beiste and I liked the Beatles and Elvis ideas we didn't go with for Nationals " he added.

"Cool, we'll work some of those in," Sam nodded. "And what about What Makes You Beautiful? That's a decent choice. Girls? Anything you all want to sing? We could do a boys set, a girls set then a group set. Maybe a few solos thrown in too," he suggested.

"I'd like to sing Eternal Flame if no one minds," Santana announced, glancing at Brittany.

"I think maybe a couple of Madonna numbers, some of her dancier hits," Mercedes suggested, taking a sip from her latte.

"Good call," Finn said as he arrived with a guy that only Kurt and Blaine had met before. "Everyone, this is Charlie, Charlie, this is everyone," he introduced, looking embarrassed.

Charlie was welcomed into the group by almost everyone. Rachel understandably was just a little reserved. The set list was compiled in the time it took to drink two coffees each. Charlie and Jesse, as he collected empty cups and brought fresh drinks, both made some song suggestions too.

"Right, that's it," Puck announced standing up and offering his hand to help Quinn. "We're done here," he said. "See you all tomorrow," he waved over his shoulder leading Quinn back to the truck. "Study time here we come," he murmured to her, making her giggle. "We can study properly tomorrow, tonight I want to study you just a little," he winked. Quinn didn't disagree.

On the drive home, Quinn had an idea. "Remember when I was having Beth and you made that cast of my stomach?" she asked out of the blue.

"Yeah," Puck smiled. "It's still in the attic at my mom's," he told her. "That was cool. Want to do it again?" he asked, getting the gist of her idea.

"Yeah, I do," Quinn nodded. "We did it about this same stage, thirty two weeks, right?" she asked, trying to remember.

"No, you were thirty four weeks when we did it before," Puck corrected. He hadn't forgotten a single thing about it. They'd made the cast at the weekend then the following week Quinn had moved out to go live at Mercedes' house. Quinn had been feeling way too emotional and hormonal to think about things rationally at that time and a simple argument about something completely forgettable had altered their lives drastically.

"Cool, so we do it in a couple of weeks," Quinn said with a sigh. "I wonder if I'm the same size?" she pondered. "I feel bigger, this feels bigger," she pouted. "And I still don't know where to look for a dress," she said, going off on a tangent, one of her many talents while pregnant. Puck realised that it was at this point the last time that Quinn had struggled to keep a thought straight in her head. He could see the same thing happening again but at least this time he was aware of it. "Maybe I shouldn't go to prom," Quinn pouted, stretching her back out a little, pushing her belly forwards. "I mean, who wants to see _that_ on the dance floor?" she asked, disgusted with herself.

"Me," Puck replied with a smile. "I want to see that on the dance floor. I want to see it before then in our bedroom too," he added quickly, just in case she got any ideas that he only wanted to see her on the dance floor. And no, that thought wouldn't be entirely rational either.

Judy's car was in the driveway when they got home, Puck parked his truck next to it and went to help Quinn out. They walked to the front door hand in hand. "Hey mom," Quinn called as she went inside. "We're back," she said as she heard footsteps tapping towards them. Quinn looked up and saw who else was there. "Aunt Sheila," she said, going in for a hug from her mom's best friend. "What are you doing here?" she cried.

"I heard that a certain senior was having a fashion crisis," Sheila Redmond answered. "I can't have my very favourite niece miss her prom just because most designers don't think about maternity prom wear," she grinned, hugging Quinn close. "And I haven't seen my other very favourite niece since her wedding, even though she lives less than an hour away from me," Sheila turned an accusing eye on Orla, teasing her just a little. "Been too busy?" she asked with a wink. Orla blushed but didn't say anything. Dale's little snigger was heard from the kitchen. Puck thought he might as well go see what Dale was up to, especially as it now seemed likely there wasn't going to be any 'studying' happening any time soon.

"Hey," Puck said to Dale, deciding that he was right, the kitchen was a much better place to be rather than the lounge where all four dress hungry females had congregated.

"What's wrong with you?" Dale asked, tapping away on his ipad. "I thought you wanted Sheila to come and fix a dress for Quinn," he said, sounding confused.

"I actually thought Judy would stay overnight and come back tomorrow," Puck admitted. "I had plans for tonight," he told Dale sadly. "And we haven't had….plans…." he stuck the word in instead of what he was going to say, "for nearly two weeks. Quinn's not feeling comfortable," he mumbled with a frown. "I know, I know," he sighed. "Be supportive, it's your baby she's carrying," he listed the stuff he was sure his mom would say.

"But you're ready to explode?" Dale asked without looking up, the hint of a smirk on his face. "Yeah," he sighed heavily, finally looking up from his screen. "I know _that_ feeling," he nodded. "Orla isn't exactly the forgiving type," Dale explained seeing Puck's puzzled frown. "You've met Russell, right?" he asked.

"Just once, but that was enough to know he's a prick," Puck said quietly, he didn't want to be overheard by any of the women.

"See, Quinn is more like Judy, considerate, placid," Dale continued. "Orla is more like Russell. Not as nasty as he is, the jerk," he added under his breath, "but she can be just as fiery. Needless to say, she can hold a grudge for quite a while. And the first thing she cuts off when she's pissed off?" he nodded, seeing Puck's understanding. "Yeah, welcome to the Fabray's house of fun," he said with a tight smile.

"Well, thanks Dale," Puck said, in a sarcastically bright voice. "You've given me absolutely zero hope for the future. And are you absolutely _sure_ you've met Quinn? Placid isn't a word I'd usually associate with her. Stubborn, that one works well. Determined, and quite a few others that maybe aren't so complimentary, but perhaps she just saves that side of her for me," he finished with a grin.

"Maybe she does," Dale returned and looked back at his ipad, grinning into his beer bottle. "So Quinn's got you all organized with your scuba gear then?" he asked, his shoulders shaking just a touch.

"That's so far from being funny," Puck returned, but grinned anyway. "She wants you and Orla in the room with us too, you know that, right?" he asked, swiping Dale's half-empty bottle and finishing it. "And she's going to be naked, did they tell you that?" he added, seeing Dale gulp, a touch of fear entering his eyes. "You're the one with the life saving certificate, right?" he asked, keeping his face straight. "You'll have to dive into the pool if there's a problem," he finished, then laughed at the total reversal, Dale wasn't laughing now.

"Hey," Quinn called with a huge smile as she almost skipped into the kitchen. "Aunt Sheila's just designed my prom dress. In like ten minutes. It was like watching an artist, you wouldn't believe it, amazing. And I've chosen the colour of fabric that I want, my mom and Sheila are going to get it tomorrow and then….what's wrong with you?" she asked Dale. He looked like he was going to be sick any second. "Orla. Orla," she called over her shoulder but keeping her eyes on her brother-in-law. "Something's wrong with Dale, he doesn't look well and he won't speak. Why are you laughing?" she asked Puck, seeing him bent over, his hand on the counter keeping him from falling, laughing silently. "What are you laughing at?" she asked, still concerned over Dale.

"Nothing," Puck said, out of breath, "I'm fine. He is too, he just had a reality check," he explained, still bursting into intermittent fits of laughter.

"I'm not…I'm not….I can't…." Dale tried to speak and struggled to connect even a few words together.

"I think he's trying to tell you he's not cool with being our lifeguard," Puck told Quinn, still sniggering. "He doesn't want to be in the same room as you when you're naked. I on the other hand, can't wait to get you naked," he added quietly, stepping up close, taking both of Quinn's hands, swaying with her a little. "We ready to get some studying going on?" he asked, his lips descending to the ticklish little area below her ear.

Quinn sucked in a breath. "Oh yeah," she whispered. "Aunt Sheila just wants to take some measurements first, give me ten minutes, then I'm all yours," she said, planting a kiss on Puck's lips before rushing out of the kitchen. "Oww," she stopped dead in the hall, holding her side. Quinn bent a little and sucked in a deep breath. She blew out, trying to straighten up, massaging her side.

Puck was at her side in a second. "Are you ok?" he asked, worried despite telling himself "this is normal, it's probably that Brixton contractions thing".

"I'm…I'm fine," Quinn replied with a nervous giggle. "It's just Braxton Hicks," she assured Puck, confident that she was right, hoping she was right. "Really, I'm fine. Let's get these measurements done then you can take me to bed," she whispered as he hugged her tight again. "We have some studying to do," she added with a smile.

Quinn stepped back into the lounge, smiling but still rubbing at her side. "Are you ok?" Judy asked, looking a little concerned.

"I'm fine mom," Quinn replied, smiling even more. "It's just practicing contractions," she assured Judy.

"Has Dale stopped tripping yet?" Orla asked.

"No, he's in shock I think," Quinn replied, feeling the tightening again. "Can we do this quickly?" she asked. "I think I need to lie down for a while," she finished on a little laughing breath.

"Sure honey," Sheila replied flicking her tape measure out. She worked quickly, expertly and soon had Quinn's vital statistics written down. Quinn picked up the paper.

"Oh God," she moaned. "I remember when I was 32-22-30," she sighed. "Will I ever get that back?" she asked herself sadly.

"After two babies?" Orla asked, looking her sister up and down. "Not likely," she replied. "Oh honey, I'm sorry," she cried, seeing Quinn's face fall. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," she hurried to apologise. "But when I listen to some of my work colleagues and they're talking about still carrying baby weight and their kid is like thirteen or something, I'm sorry Quinnie, I didn't mean it. You're young, of course you'll bounce back," she finished with a smile feeling that she'd grovelled enough.

Puck came into the lounge to check that firstly, Quinn was ok and secondly that she was ready to spend some naked time with him. She was. After Orla's wonderful insight into the next ten years or so of battling to get her figure back she was feeling a little deflated, but oh so ready to have her mood improved by the ministrations of one Noah Puckerman.

"What if Orla is right?" Quinn asked, frowning as Puck helped her out of her clothes.

"What if she is?" Puck answered her question with a question, dropping kisses on her skin wherever he could. He loved that Quinn helped him too, even though she was more than a little distracted. "If your boobs stay like this, that can't be bad, can it?" he asked with a grin, moulding and shaping her boobs, bending to kiss, suckle at them. Quinn hitched in a breath at the tingling sensation, so much more intense than ever before.

"No," she replied shakily, "that wouldn't be too bad." Quinn loved every second of Puck convincing her that even if she didn't manage to return to her pre-baby figure, he would love her regardless and she would always turn him on. Always. And actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn't really feeling uncomfortable tonight. Well, not _that_ uncomfortable. "You know what always works best?" she whispered.

"Mmm?" Puck moaned his question, he didn't want to take his tongue away from it's current task. He didn't think Quinn would want him to either.

"When you slide up behind me, pull my leg over yours," she said, her voice breathy, excited. Puck didn't need a whole lot of encouraging, he certainly didn't need a diagram, he was there in seconds. "Ooh, just like that," she breathed, as Puck's solid length replaced his tongue, breached her and slowly entered her. He held his breath as Quinn squeezed her muscles. She leaned her head back to kiss him, she sucked his tongue into her mouth as he mimicked his lower body movements.

Puck's strong arm wrapped around, under the bulge of their daughter, supporting her. He held Quinn steady and rocked into her from behind, breathing harshly. It had been far too long, they both needed this far too much for it to be a marathon, it was more like a sprint. "Ungh," Puck grunted as he felt himself empty inside Quinn, he felt her inner muscles working him, milking him, squeezing, wringing every last drop out of him. "Oh yeah, we're Quick alright," he teased against her throat. "Sleep now, we'll fix the bed and stuff tomorrow," he told Quinn, it was certainly warm enough that they wouldn't feel uncomfortable on top of the bedclothes, even naked as they were.

Puck woke up to the feel of Quinn undulating against him. She was asleep but whatever she was dreaming about seemed to be super hot. Volcanic. With just the tiniest of positioning adjustments, he managed to be in just exactly the right place to just slip inside. Puck helped Quinn to find herself a rhythm, without disturbing her from her sleep. She instinctively turned her face for a kiss, Puck obliged.

Quinn woke to the amazing sensation of Puck filling her, his tongue stroking hers, his fingers strumming her like he played his guitar. She felt the tightening of her climax approach and then she shattered, melting over him as he exploded inside her. "Mmmm," she moaned drowsily. "I think I found my mojo," she finished with a sleepy grin before falling back into a deep slumber.

Puck sighed happily and held on tight. He looked at the clock, three fourteen. He hoped Quinn would wake up like that again when the alarm buzzed them at six thirty. Maybe she would, but only if he was really lucky.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I can state quite clearly that I do not claim ownership to anything Glee. **

**A/N: Prom and finals, with an insight into studying, Quinn Fabray and Noah Puckerman style.**

"Oh Sheila," Judy cried, her hands clasped together at her lips. "Beautiful. Amazing. Quinn, you look stunning," she said, the hint of tears in her eyes. She couldn't stop smiling. Her youngest daughter truly looked absolutely amazing. The deep red of the silk bringing out the wonderful natural glow that surrounded Quinn. The silver and crystal embellishment on the shoulder and under the bust on the asymmetrical empire line dress really emphasised the sparkle in Quinn's eyes. The cut and drape of the silk flattered both Quinn's baby bump and her neat figure.

Quinn couldn't speak for a few moments, she could barely swallow. "Thank you," she whispered gruffly. It was all she could manage. Quinn knew the dress was stunning.

"Woah," Puck whispered as he came into the bedroom, caught unawares. He just come to pick up his yarmulke, he didn't know Quinn was having a dress fitting. "Wow," he said, giving her a considered look. "You're going to knock a few people onto their asses tomorrow night," he said, his grin starting just on one side. "Beautiful, you look beautiful," he added, he still hadn't managed to look away yet.

"Ok, let's get this off," Sheila instructed, having made a couple of minor alterations while Judy, Quinn and Puck had been mesmerised. "I just need to finish this bit, put a couple of tacks in here and then it's done," she smiled. "And did you get what I told you to get?" she glanced at Puck who was standing by with Quinn's robe to wrap around her when the dress was off.

"Yep I did," Puck grinned. "See," he told Quinn. "I _can_ follow orders you know," he smiled. "Not very often," he admitted.

"Except if it's on a shirt," Quinn grinned and winked at him. "Don't forget to bring me some dessert," she called as he left the bedroom, "your Nana's made almond horseshoes," she added, grinning as Puck trotted back to drop a kiss on her smiling lips. "Right," Quinn started once Puck had left again, "that's shoes, underwear and dress all ready for tomorrow. Did you make an appointment with Roberta for me?" she asked her mom.

"Sorry honey, Roberta was fully booked, everybody wants hair by Roberta for prom," Judy explained sadly. "There's a new girl there, Heather," she told Quinn. "I made the appointment with her, it's early enough that if she makes a complete screw up we have time to wash your hair and redo it here," she said.

"That's fine, I think a couple of girls at school have been to her before, I'm sure they've said she's very good, young but very good," Quinn nodded her thanks to Judy. "Oh well, at least I feel positive about prom, my dress looks absolutely amazing," she said, her face showing how much she loved it. "Thank you Aunt Sheila."

"And I get to take you in Dale's jag," Puck nodded, grinning. "Yeah," he breathed to himself.

Judy gave Puck a stare. "You better be careful with that thing," she warned. "What Dale will do to you if you hurt his baby is nothing compared to what _I'll_ do to you if you hurt _my_ baby," she told Puck. And meant every word.

"Relax Judy," Puck grinned. "I'm not going to do anything to put Quinn or Ruby at risk," he promised, pulling Quinn into his chest, his hand stroking over the bump. "They both mean too much to me to do anything to hurt them. Ever," he added. Judy knew he meant it too.

"I thought you'd gone already," Quinn mumbled into his chest.

"I forgot this," Puck replied, holding up his yarmulke. "That's what happens when you take off a dress in front of me," he smiled, kissing her again. "And now I'm really going, if I'm late for Temple my mom will kill me," he waved a he ran down the stairs. "I know, cookies," he shouted from the front door.

"He better not eat them all," Quinn told Sheila and her mom seriously. They just smiled at her.

On Saturday morning Puck went out to work early. He had six pools on his list today plus he'd promised Mr Cromer last night at Temple that he'd call in to move some stuff that they needed taking to the dump.

"Try not to be too late," Quinn had murmured sleepily when he kissed her goodbye.

"I won't," Puck promised, his hand stroking along her stomach. "Later," he whispered from the doorway.

Quinn spent the day getting pampered with Rachel, Tina and Mercedes. They all had their nails done and their hair done. Quinn pouted when Rachel complained that her spray tan had been less successful than she was used to.

"At least you can get one," she grumbled. "Its just one of the many, many things that are off limits when you're pregnant," she explained with a sigh. "I shall have to pretend that I always wanted to be pale and interesting," she told both of them making them laugh.

"Hey, Blondie," Mercedes giggled. "When you stand next to me you're always pale and interesting, even with the fake tan."

After lunch the girls made their way back to Quinn's house. Judy was baking, making cupcakes by the thousand.

"What are they for?" Quinn asked, tempted to have a nibble till Judy slapped her hand away.

"You're not allowed," Judy told Quinn.

"These aren't Puck's special recipe," Mercedes asked a touch nervously, glancing left and right to Quinn, Tina and Rachel. "Are they?"

"No," Judy replied, a little confused. She'd never heard of Noah baking before. "This is my grandmother's recipe," she announced proudly. "And they're for the bake sale at church tomorrow. We're raising funds for the new bell," she smiled and got on with her work.

"We're going upstairs," Quinn said, losing interest in the cupcakes. "Would you remind Puck when he gets home that he still has to go pick up the pool from the post office, please?" she asked her mom.

"I will, but I have no doubt that he'll run up to see you straight away anyway," Judy smiled at her daughter. "He always does."

"I know," Quinn nodded with a grin, "but I've already reminded him twice and I don't want him to think I'm nagging him," she explained, screwing her face up a little.

"So you'll make me nag him instead?" Judy laughed. "Thanks," she added. "Turn me into the nagging mother-in-law why don't you," she teased, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "I think Dale already tells him I am anyway."

"You don't nag and he knows it," Quinn assured her mom, walking back round the island to kiss her mom's cheek. "And he knows you love him too," she grinned.

"Go," Judy nodded to Tina, Rachel and Mercedes, encouraging Quinn to leave the kitchen. "Go have fun," she told them.

Judy watched the four of them disappear up the stairs. The second she heard Quinn's bedroom door close she ran to the back door. "She's upstairs, bring it in," she told Puck and Finn. "The things I do for you Noah Puckerman," she shook her head and blew out a breath. "By the way," she added smiling. "Quinn wants you to pick that," she pointed to the large, heavy carton that the two of them were struggling with, "up from the post office," she finished with a wider smile. "There, I can honestly say I've reminded you about it. And I wasn't nagging," she insisted.

"I'm just going to run up and see her for a few minutes then I've got to get to the Cromers then pick up her corsage," Puck told Judy. He was still a little breathless, the weight of the birthing pool was a lot more than he'd expected. "Do you want to wait here?" he asked Finn.

"No, I'll come up too if that's ok," Finn replied.

They both went up to the bedroom. "Hey," Puck called from just out side the door. "Are you all decent?" he asked then turned to face Finn. "If you're not, I'm coming in," he joked.

"What are you doing home already?" Quinn asked as she opened the door. "Did my mom tell you…" she got cut off.

"To pick up the birthing pool, I know, it's downstairs and it's huge, heavy and that's without any water in it," Puck answered. "Don't I even get a kiss?" he asked, holding both hands out.

"Eww, no," Quinn replied, leaning back a little. "You're all sweaty and disgusting, I'm not kissing you," she said and she really wasn't joking.

"Ah, babe," Puck laughed as he headed into the bathroom. "You say the kindest things," he added as he ran water into the sink. He came out a few minutes later drying his face. "Will you kiss me now?" he asked. How could Quinn possibly refuse?

Puck flew back into the house a little later than planned, his afternoon had gone to shit since he'd dropped the birthing pool off.

"Look at the time," Quinn grumbled when he rushed into the bedroom to get a shower. She'd already bathed and had her robe on. Her hair was perfect, a neat roll secured by a crystal encrusted comb and a multitude of cleverly hidden pins. She was putting her make up on, taking her time, making sure everything was perfect.

"I know, but the job for the Cromers wasn't just a one trip thing. I had to get Sam in to help me then his car broke down," Puck explained, already dropping his clothes into the laundry hamper. "Burt had to come out with the tow truck, I had to drop Sam off, but I'm here now and I grabbed something to eat when I picked…erm….earlier," he changed what he was going to say. "Is my suit hung up?" he asked, hoping that he didn't have to do anything to get his stuff ready.

"Yep, your suit and shirt are hung up, socks, shoes over there," Quinn said as she opened the closet door to show Puck. "I even polished your shoes for you. That's not going to happen too many times, let me tell you that," she added with a mutter.

"Aww, babe," Puck grinned. "You're just too good to me," he said, holding his arms wide open. Quinn gave him a disdainful look.

"Shower first, you smelly man," she instructed. "Then I'll consider a hug. Maybe a kiss," she turned away making an effort not to smile. "And because it's prom I might even consider making out with you in the back of the car," she made eye contact with Puck in the mirror, seeing the answering grin on his face.

"There's no way I'm bundling you into the back seat of Dale's jag," Puck laughed. He walked up close and crowded into Quinn without actually touching, he still had to shower after all. "I have plans for when we get home," he murmured, his breath hot on the back of her neck. "God, I love your neck," he breathed. "Shower," he said abruptly, turning away from her. Quinn caught sight of the effect she'd had on him and smiled to herself.

"Yeah," she grinned at herself in the mirror. "I might be the size of a house but I've still got it," she nodded with satisfaction and reapplied her lipstick.

Puck took a fairly long shower, his soapy hand feeling almost as good as Quinn's would, not quite as good as her mouth, but in the circumstances, he got the job done. "N-ugh," he grunted as his release pulsed into the flowing water and washed away. "Hundred bucks, right down the drain," he thought to himself with a sigh.

With a towel wrapped around his waist, Puck re-entered the bedroom. Judy was just helping Quinn to put her dress on, making sure that she didn't catch her hair. He watched as her lingerie was slowly covered, loving that even now, with her bump stuck out like that, she had to have gorgeous undies. He always loved that. And took advantage of that. Quinn without her amazing lingerie collection would be like summer without the sun.

"Are you just going to stare or are you going to get dressed?" Quinn asked when it didn't look like Puck was going to make a move at all.

"I'm just enjoying the view," he grinned, turning away to save Judy's blushes as he felt himself stir again, just a little. He sat on the bed his back to Quinn and ran his hands over his freshly shaved cheeks. "Hurry up, Judy," he thought, wishing she'd get out so he could get dressed.

"Right," Judy breathed, scurrying off towards the door. "I'll leave you to get ready," she smiled.

Puck looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Thanks Judy," he called as she closed the door behind her. He stood up and turned round, dropping the towel. Puck glanced at Quinn again, still in front of the mirror, putting the finishing touches to her make up. "See what you do to me?" he asked. "Even with your mom in the room, just a glimpse of you in that red lacy stuff is enough to undo all my good work," he murmured with a half grin on his face. "Your hair up like that, your perfume," he sighed. "I'm gonna be hard all night," he thought, not a bit worried about it.

"You'll just have to control yourself," Quinn said, trying for a serious tone in her voice. She couldn't quite disguise the glint of a smile in her eyes. "Hurry up then," she encouraged. "I'll go wait downstairs," she said, picking up her tiny silver clutch.

"No, wait for me," Puck said hurriedly. "I want to take you downstairs," he added. He picked up his socks and pulled them on then his boxers. Quinn walked up behind him to stroke his butt.

"I do love your ass in these," she whispered against his shoulder, her hands stealing round his hips and forwards a little. "Silk just feels so mmmm," she groaned.

"Do you actually want me to be able to get my pants on or are we going for the half naked look tonight? Set a new prom trend, maybe," Puck asked, feeling his ever-ready reaction to Quinn stir once more. "The zip is not going to go up past this," he said, his hand covering Quinn's and holding it over the front of his shorts.

Quinn stepped away and passed Puck his shirt. "We'll have to get a move on, we have vocal warm up before prom actually starts," she reminded him. She watched as he buttoned his shirt up, as ever leaving the top buttons undone. "No tie? Really?" she asked, slightly disappointed.

"Hey, I'm in a suit aren't I?" he asked, pulling on his shoes and fastening them. "And real shoes, not boots not sneakers. Shoes," he repeated standing up to take his jacket from her. "Let's hustle, you know they're probably going to want a million photos before we can even get through the door, don't you?" he asked, holding his hand out to Quinn. She sighed when he didn't even put his jacket on.

As they walked down the stairs towards all of their combined families, Quinn couldn't help the smile that lit her face, seeing all of their faces. Even Sarah looked impressed.

Puck left Quinn at the bottom of the stairs and went into the kitchen. Sheila was waiting for him. She quickly helped him into the red and silver silk waistcoat that she'd altered to match Quinn's dress and fastened the tie for him. She helped him on with his jacket then handed him the corsage he'd bought for Quinn.

Quinn turned to look as Puck came back carrying a clear plastic box. He was determinedly looking at the box in his hands rather than at Quinn, knowing she would be feeling more than a little emotional. "Well," he shrugged when he reached her. "Its senior prom, got to make an effort," he said with a wink. "This is for you," he whispered, opening the box and taking out the corsage. He took Quinn's hand and slipped in onto her wrist, he lifted her hand to kiss her fingers. "Ready for prom?" he asked, smiling into her shimmering eyes. Quinn nodded, keeping it together. Just about.

Dale was waiting outside, next to his baby. He took a deep breath before handing the keys over. "One mark, just one and," he stopped, cut off by Puck.

"I know, I'll be singing soprano for the rest of my life," Puck grinned. "Chill, I'll take care of it, your baby is safe with me," he promised.

"Yeah, Judy thought that too," Dale muttered, glancing at Quinn's stomach. Puck laughed and helped Quinn into the car. He walked to the other side and waved to everyone before he got in.

"Bet this baby can do one fifty," he called to Quinn loudly, just before he started the engine. He glanced through the rear view mirror at Dale's stricken face. "Yep, he's just about to either crap his pants or throw up," he grinned to Quinn. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded. Dale breathed a huge sigh of relief when Puck set off and drove away sedately.

New Directions gathered in the choir room for vocal warm up. "You all look stunning, girls," Mr Schue told them. "Guys, handsome as ever, you all scrub up well. Even you, Puck," he teased.

During the first set, the guys did four numbers, they did two group numbers with the girls joining them then they took a break. The second set the girls did four, the guys joined them for another two then they took another break. Principal Figgins announced prom king and queen winners, Lauren Zizes and Alexander Milton, one of Lauren's wrestling team buddies. Puck cheered really loudly for her. He genuinely liked Lauren, they'd built up a good friendship during the time they'd 'dated'. She waved back at him from the stage, pointing to her crown.

"What was that about?" Quinn asked, puzzled. Puck told her the story of how Lauren used to be involved in beauty pageants when she was a little girl. "Well we're not doing that with our daughter," Quinn sniffed, she'd seen those shows, babies being made up, spray tanned, dressed up and forced to perform. "No way," she said with a shudder.

The final set, after Santana had sung Eternal Flame for the king and queen to dance to, was dedicated to group numbers. They performed Paradise By The Dashboard Light, scaling down the dance sequence in respect of the girls' dresses. Jesse, Rachel's date for the evening joined them to sing Like A Prayer. In a change to the competition pairing, Puck and Quinn led Time Of My Life and they ended the set with Fun's We Are Young. They all had a fantastic time, even though no one tried to spike the punch. Well, at least Puck didn't. He didn't even go near it, he wasn't giving Ms Sylvester any chance at all to blame him for anything.

"That was a fun night," Quinn sighed happily, tiredly as Puck stopped the car outside the house. She giggled when Dale immediately ran outside to check on his baby.

"I took good care of her, I didn't park near any other cars or under any trees," Puck told the very worried 'daddy', "just like you instructed. There might be a few bite marks in the dash but hey, we saw paradise," he joked, edging away from Quinn's purse as she slapped him with it on his shoulder.

"He's teasing you Dale," Quinn told her brother-in-law's ass, the only part of him sticking out of the car, he was checking it in minute detail. "I am so tired. Are you taking me to bed?" she whispered to Puck as they watched Dale polish the dash.

"Oh yeah," Puck whispered back. "I want to check out what's under that dress, I only caught a glimpse of it earlier," he reminded her, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Night Dale, and thank you for the loan of your car," he called as they turned to go in the house.

"Has he put his baby to bed yet?" Orla asked in a bored voice as they walked into the house. "He's been like a cat on hot bricks since you left," she told them, shaking her head. "It's ridiculous, I don't think he gets that worried about _me_," she grumbled. "Then again, it is a cool car," she grinned. "Night," she called as Puck and Quinn headed up the stairs.

Puck _loved_ the full view of Quinn's lingerie. "God, remember that red stuff you wore when I got out of juvie?" he asked, a memory surfacing from somewhere deep in his brain. "My mom threw a fit when she found it under my bed," he laughed. "I got the concerned mother act first, telling me that cross dressing is 'normal'," he could barely talk for laughing. "When she found out it was yours she went nuts, till I told her you left it behind when you moved to Mercedes' house," he grinned. "I still have it," he admitted. "I hid it away, brought it out when I was feeling a little," he winked, stroking his hand down the front of her, curving under her stomach. "When I wanted to think of you, remember you," he whispered, his lips seeking her nipple under the lace. They didn't talk for quite a while, they fell asleep in the early hours, tired, sweaty, and sticky but oh so satisfied.

The following week it was a different matter. The sounds in their bedroom weren't a bit like the sighs, moans and groans of prom night.

"The countries of South America?" Quinn asked, her voice sounding very much like a strict schoolmarm.

Puck dropped his head to the desk, his fake sobs sounding rather real. "Urgh," he grunted. "I can't do this," he growled. "It's no use, I'm just going to be a pool boy for the rest of my life," he added, still growling, getting angry at himself for being such an idiot, for daring to dream.

"Ok, new teaching method," Quinn said suddenly. "Strip geography. For every answer you get right, I take something off," she told him, watching his head rise slowly from the desk, sensing his interest. "For every answer you get wrong, I put something back on. Deal?" she asked, holding her had out for him to shake.

Puck spun in the chair to face Quinn. He licked his lips as he looked her up and down, picturing the map he'd been studying. "Argentina," he said and waited to see what she would remove.

Quinn held in a smile and kicked off a shoe.

"Brazil," Puck gave his second answer. The other shoe. "Bolivia, Chile, Colombia," he listed and watched as Quinn took off her little knitted wrap, her long floaty shirt and the velvet band she'd worn round her neck to hide the hickie he'd left there on prom night. She looked at Puck without saying a word, her lips still trying to conceal the smile, her eyebrow just starting to arch. "Venezuela, Peru," he gave her. Quinn removed her leggings and her camisole. "Two more and you'll be naked," Puck told her in a husky voice, as if she needed reminding. "Then what?" he asked.

"Then you have to take your clothes off too," Quinn answered with a sigh, her hand stroking up her body and sliding into her hair, her eyes closed. She let out a moan. "More," she moaned, "give me more, I want more," she said with a sigh, opening her eyes, staring at him. Puck had yet to take his eyes off her since she'd come up with her lesson plan.

"Paraguay," Puck managed to say, his voice so low, so husky, he could barely swallow. He watched as Quinn's hands went to her back, to the fastening and saw the second the clip was released. She made a performance of removing the cups from her breasts, watched him through lowered lids, watched him swallow hard, as she dropped the bra at her feet. "Uruguay," he said standing. He watched Quinn taunt him with the sides of her panties, tease him with how slowly she finessed them off of her hips, wiggled her body till they dropped. "Naked," he breathed. "Ecuador," he said, pulling his shirt off and taking a step towards her. "Guyana," he added, pulling off a sock, "French Guiana," he said with a smile, pulling off the other sock. "There's only one more," he told Quinn, his smile getting just a little brighter. "Suriname," he said, his hands dropping to the buttons on his jeans. Slowly he popped each one. As he let them drop just a touch, his smile got even wider. "I love the days I go commando," he announced and watched her eyes zero in, he let them drop a bit more, oh yeah. He was so ready for the next lesson.

Puck found naming the worlds mountain ranges a much easier task than he'd imagined. Quinn's tongue really helped him to focus. Unbelievable. He could have graduated high school two years ago if she'd have come up with this idea then.

By the time he had learnt all that he needed for his geography test Puck was exhausted. Totally satisfied but exhausted. Amazing what the promise of a hand job and a blowjob could do for him.

"Good luck with your test this morning," Quinn whispered to Puck at his locker just before they went to their separate classes. "You got this, you can totally nail it," she reminded him.

"What happens if I get a boner in class?" Puck asked, suddenly worried that the only way he was going to remember all of it was to relive the four hours they had spent in bed last night. Before they'd got up and had something to eat then went back to bed to sleep.

"Then save it for me," Quinn advised. "I have a feeling we might need to debrief after your test," she intoned seriously. "Our room, lunchtime," she whispered with a kiss.

"That's a date," he smiled and kissed her back. "Gotta go," he whispered. He walked away towards his class, he looked back at Quinn standing by his locker and winked at her. He turned back and walked confidently to his class. He had this.

"Well?" Quinn demanded the second he closed the door after them. "How do you think it went?" she asked.

"I could lift the desk up without using my hands by the time I'd listed the countries," Puck grinned. "Don't even get me started on what happened with the mountain ranges and rivers. I know Ms Duisenberg was giving me weird looks. Do you think she figured out our method?" he asked.

"I hope not," Quinn replied with a giggle. "I'd hate to think _she_ was going to use it as a teaching method," she shuddered slightly.

"Well, Fabray," Puck murmured against her lips, pressing his still raging erection against her. "We have to do something about this before Glee this afternoon. We have to practice for graduation," he reminded her.

Quinn grinned and sank to the cot, turning Puck slightly to give herself the best angle. She pulled his zip down, unfastened the button and smiled to herself as 'this' presented itself to her without assistance from either of them. "Mind of its own?" she said as she looked up his body. Puck sucked in a breath at the first stroke of her tongue. He was so ready, so primed that it didn't take too long. He watched, panting, feeling the quiver through his entire body as Quinn placed her tongue just so to collect his offering. Puck's hand tightened in her hair for a fraction of a second then released. "And you grumble about me eating squirty cheese," she smirked, wiping a couple of stray drops off her bottom lip and onto her tongue.

"Yeah well, _I_ wouldn't put _this_," Puck nodded down as he adjusted himself and refastened his jeans, "in my mouth either," he commented. "You don't complain where my tongue goes," he reminded her with a grin and a flick of his eyebrows. Quinn could not deny that at all. Well, Noah Puckerman did posses a very, very talented tongue. A fact which Quinn Fabray appreciated very, very much.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: No ownership claimed or implied.**

**A/N: Graduation…**

"Finn, Sam and Mike are coming over to help," Puck assured Quinn. "It'll be fine. You go to church with your mom, then do your shopping and by the time you get back we should be done," he said, dropping a kiss on her lips. "Go, your mom's waiting," he urged.

"But you will be careful, won't you?" Quinn asked, reluctant to leave the hard work of setting up the nursery to four teenaged boys.

"We won't damage the walls, we won't scratch the floor, it'll be perfect," Puck replied, giving her a half smile. "If we need a hand, Burt said to call him. Go, she's waiting for you," he urged again. They both heard Judy open the front door and welcome their friends. "See? The guys are here now, leave us to it, when you get back it'll be a different room, ok?" he nodded, encouraging Quinn to get moving.

Quinn walked down the stairs, Puck just behind her. "Hey guys," Puck called, "ready for some hard work?" he asked.

"Yep," Sam answered for all of them.

"Now, you're sure you can do this?" Judy asked, concern showing on her face.

"Judy, we'll be fine," Puck gave yet another assurance. "By the time you get back, Ruby's nursery will be set up and ready for her," he said, giving Quinn a hug round her shoulders. "Then later we'll have the dummy run with the pool, ok?" he reminded her.

"Don't forget we're taking a quick trip to the mall after church," Judy reminded Puck. "You want something nice to wear for graduation, don't you?" she asked Quinn.

"Mmm," Quinn nodded, pressing her nose into Puck's chest. "Do you need anything?" she asked him, her head going right back to look up at him.

"Nah, I'm cool," he replied, dropping a kiss on her nose. "Go," he said again, swatting her on her ass. "You're going to be late," he added.

"We're gone," Quinn said with a smile, leaving the house with Judy.

"Ok, let's get this done," Puck told his friends, jogging back upstairs.

Finn, Sam and Mike followed. "Loving the little ducks," Sam mocked just a little as he saw the decor in the bright, sunny room for the first time.

"Hey, if Quinn wants ducks in the nursery, Quinn gets ducks in the nursery," Puck informed them all. "Whatever makes her happy," he insisted.

"You are so not Puckasaurus anymore," Finn said with a sad sigh. "I feel so responsible for your downfall. I apologise," he added, with more than a hint of sincerity.

"It's cool," Puck replied with a smile. "I wouldn't change a thing," he admitted. "Well, maybe our ages, but not us," he added. "It was always going to happen, it was just a matter of when," he said with a shrug. "Maybe we should be thanking you," he grinned at Finn.

Puck and Finn put together the crib, a beautiful piece of furniture. The matching wardrobe caused Sam and Mike a few issues but they managed. The changing table and dresser were the easiest pieces to do. By the time they'd finished, Quinn and Judy were coming back through the door, hands laden with shopping bags.

"Oh, well done," Judy said, full of admiration for the work the four guys had done. "There's the cradle to come down from the attic to go in the lounge," she reminded Quinn. It was the antique oak cradle that had been passed down through the generations. "There's just the Moses basket for your bedroom that, actually, I think that should be delivered tomorrow, I'd better check up on that," Judy added, suddenly remembering that the design that Quinn had selected hadn't been immediately available. She looked around at Quinn for some sort of input. "I think, once that arrives, everything is just about ready, don't you?" she asked.

"I think so," Quinn nodded, feeling the nerves jingle just a little. Five more weeks and her daughter would be here.

"So you're happy with everything?" Puck asked, making sure. It wasn't unheard of for Quinn to be insistent on one thing to then change her mind once what she originally wanted was presented to her.

"Yes, it's beautiful. Thank you, all of you," Quinn said with a smile, hugging Puck.

"I can't thank you enough," Puck told his friends, high-fiving each of them. "I couldn't have done it without you," he nodded. After snacks and drinks, the three friends left but not before Puck had asked Finn for another favour.

Judy prepared dinner, Puck prepared the pool. "Wow," Quinn exclaimed once it was inflated in the lounge. "Its way bigger than I thought," she admitted. "It's going to take a lot of filling," she warned.

"Well, the information that comes with it gives the guidelines," Puck told her, reading the pamphlet that gave detailed instructions and warnings. It took longer than any of them expected to actually fill the pool.

"Want to give it a try?" Puck asked with a grin. "Stay out of the deep end," he teased. They both went upstairs and got changed for a dip in the pool. They both got in and gave it a try.

"Well, there's plenty of room for both of us in here," Quinn noted, pleased about that. "We need to remember the thermometer," Quinn said suddenly. "This is comfortable, it's lovely," she sighed, laying back slightly against Puck as he knelt behind her, supporting her. "It feels marvellous, actually," she said, her eyes closing.

Judy walked into the lounge to find both Quinn and Puck lazing in the water, relaxing. Quinn looked so much more at peace. Puck pulled the top up on Quinn's tankini, letting it rest under her boobs and stroked her stomach, Quinn's head back against his shoulder.

"That is so relaxing," Quinn murmured, her eyes drifting closed. "I could sleep in here," she sighed.

"Well, you're not going to," Puck replied. "We need to try the seat in here too," he reminded Quinn, nudging her to sit up. "Here, try this," he told her.

Quinn floated a little to get herself sat on the seat. "No, it's not as comfortable as leaning against you," Quinn decided after a few minutes. "You sit here and let me relax against you," she asked. They tried out that position and Quinn found it quite comfortable. "Here, see if this would work," she said suddenly, moving away from Puck. Quinn leant against the side of the pool on her knees, her head resting on the cushioned edge. "If you're behind me you can massage my back if I need you to…ohhhh," she groaned in appreciation as Puck did just that. "Oh, that's just pure heaven," she whispered. "Don't stop, I think we need a good long trial ru-u-u-u-n," she said on a moan as Puck found the exact place that needed his attention the most.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Judy reminded them with a smile. "Honey," she called to Quinn. "It's time to get out of the water, oh my, I feel like you're five years old again. You never liked to get out of the pool when you were a little girl, did you?" she asked, reminding Quinn of many past summers.

After dinner, Puck got the pool emptied, dried off and stored away. The relaxed feeling stayed with Quinn all evening and through the night, she had the best night's sleep she'd had in weeks.

The whole week in school was just a way of passing time till graduation day. Monday was spent mostly in the choir room. They pooled their ideas to come up with a set list for the final assembly, for the announcement of who had won teacher of the year. "I can't believe thirteen years of education is over. Finally over," Puck sighed happily.

"But you're….." Quinn started to say before Puck cut her off singing 'lalalalalala' at her. He still didn't want anyone to know his future plans. He wanted to surprise them first by actually graduating.

"Have we made the final decision yet?" Finn asked as Mr Schue was called away for a moment. "You know," he added when some of the group looked blank. "What are we going to sing to Mr Schue on Wednesday when he gets teacher of the year?" he clarified.

"Oh, right," Puck replied, sitting back in his seat, pushing it back on two legs, looking up at the ceiling. "It's got to be something awesome 'cos he has been the best teacher here in this school, without a doubt," he added, nodding to himself.

"Preach," Artie added, looking round at other people, nodding at them to gain their agreement. "I don't think you'll find an argument in here for that," he said, wheeling himself across the choir room. "How about we do a mash up of Mr Schue's favourite songs?" he asked.

"Oh, no," Puck shook his head looking just a little terrified. "Some of the songs he likes are just garbage," he frowned. "This will be just about our last performance, it's got to be freakin' awesome," he insisted.

"I think we ought to do Born This Way," Quinn said quietly. "Remind ourselves and everyone else that even though we're all really different, underneath, we're all the same," she said with a shy smile. "Sorry, baby hormones are making me stupid," she sighed, pulling a face and mocking herself.

"You know tubbers," Santana said slowly, lounging on the piano, listening with barely disguised boredom to everyone in the room. "That's possibly the most sensible thing I've heard in this room this whole year," she claimed. "We can't not mention being National champions though. We have got to rub the rest of the school's sorry ass noses in it otherwise what was the point?" she asked.

"We _are_ the champions," Sam agreed.

"We Are The Champions?" Rachel suggested.

"Of course we are," Brittany answered. "Weren't you there? Did you miss it?" she asked. "We went to Chicago and won," she told Rachel, just about to go into detail when Santana got her attention and distracted her.

"I wonder if it rains lemon drops in Brittany's world," Puck whispered to Quinn.

"Leave her alone," Quinn hissed, "she's sweet and harmless," she reminded him.

"I know," Puck grinned, dropping his chair back onto four legs and leaning over to kiss Quinn.

"Oooh," Quinn winced and sucked in a sharp breath. "God, that's the awful bit," she said breathlessly, her hands rubbing across her ribs. "It feels like Ruby is stretching her legs in there," she groaned, wincing again and shuffling about to get comfortable.

"You ok?" Puck asked quietly, rubbing his hand across her shoulders.

"Mmmm," Quinn moaned. "No," she sighed just a little tearfully. "I think I need to go for a walk," she added then took a moment to try and stand up. "God, this is like torture today," she sighed.

Puck stood to help her up. "Come on, baby, let's go for a walk, ease the kinks out," he said with a smile. "We'll be back in a few," he told everyone, heading for the door with Quinn.

Quinn walked slowly down the hall, Puck at her side holding her hand. She stopped a few times to get her breath. Puck was starting to get a little worried. He considered calling Zara but the look of concentration on Quinn's face made him think again.

"Ooh," Quinn sighed. "That's better, she's moved a little, we can go back now," she said, smiling happily up at Puck.

"You sure?" he asked. "Do you want to give Zara a call? Check stuff out?" he asked, worrying in case Ruby was intending to arrive a little earlier than they'd bargained on. "Ok Puckerman," he thought to himself. "We've got the nursery ready, we have the pool and the back up plan of the birthing centre, we've bought everything that we need to, Judy's bought everything else that no one but her ever thought of, if Ruby decides to come today, it's cool," he told himself. "Oh crap," he thought again, "it's so not cool."

"No, I feel fine now," Quinn grinned. "Walking around has made Ruby go to sleep, she's settled down now," she added with a smile.

"Cool," Puck said, silently breathing a sigh of relief. "Hey guys, we're back," he announced as they walked back into the choir room.

"Are you ok?" Mercedes asked, rushing to Quinn's side. "I thought this was going to be it," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Me too," Puck admitted.

"Oh no," Quinn replied with a huge grin. "I knew this wasn't it, she just stretched a bit too much, felt like my ribs were getting adjusted and not in a comfortable way," she informed them.

While Quinn and Puck had been walking, New Directions had chosen the songs to sing for Mr Schue. They agreed with both Quinn and Rachel. Born This Way and We Are The Champions.

"We need new t-shirts, something cool for us all, not anything negative like last time, something positive this time," Quinn decided.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed , "I like that idea. Go out on a positive note," she nodded with a satisfied smile.

"Did we actually decide on the song for graduation?" Puck asked. "Are we going with Glory Days?" he squinted at Finn, he knew it would come down to the two of them.

"Yep," Finn nodded in reply. "Well, when we're fifty we'll be saying that these are our glory days."

After school, Quinn and Puck called in to his mom's house. "Hey Sprout," Puck called to Sarah. "Happy birthday," he told her when she came running to the door. "How's it feel to be ten?" he asked her with a grin, grabbing her in a hug.

"Same as nine felt but with presents," Sarah replied, giving her brother a squeeze back. "So what did you bring me?" she asked, quietly enough so neither Naomi nor Connie heard her and told her off for being rude.

"We were supposed to buy you something?" Puck asked, faking surprise. He couldn't keep up the face when he caught his sister's 'yeah, right, give it to me' look. He laughed at her and hugged her again. "Here you go," he said, passing her an envelope from his pocket.

"Can I open it now?" Sarah asked, eyeing the envelope with something bordering disappointment.

"Better ask mom," Puck advised. He didn't know if she wanted Sarah to open everything at the same time, when all of her friends arrived for the party.

"MOM," Sarah shouted as she ran to the kitchen. Puck and Quinn followed on behind, Quinn waddling slightly, getting more than a little uncomfortable again as Ruby decided to stretch her legs once more, making Quinn feel like her ribs were going to split apart any second.

"Sarah, please don't screech," Naomi requested with a smile. She'd hoped that Sarah would have lost some of her 'tomboy-ishness' since Noah had moved out and was less of an influence on her. But sadly not.

"Can I open my present from Noah and Quinn?" Sarah asked. "Please?" she tagged on the end before she got told about her manners.

Naomi gave Sarah a considered look. "Don't you want to wait until your friends arrive and open everything together?" Naomi asked. "It would be the polite thing to do," she stated.

"How is it polite?" Sarah asked. "They don't know that my brother would get me anything so they won't know they've missed it, will they?" she added, wondering if she'd said it right or if she was going to get corrected.

"Do you mind if she opens it now?" Naomi asked Puck.

"Go for it," Puck replied, grinning at his sister. She was going to have to work for this present.

"Thanks," Sarah told Puck with a huge smile. "Oh, it's a map," she said, looking puzzled as she pulled the piece of paper out of the envelope.

"A map of what?" Connie asked, looking over Sarah's shoulder. "Ooh, a treasure map. Look," she pointed. "X marks the spot," she laughed, looking at Puck with utter puzzlement on her face too. "What is it?" she mouthed silently at Puck. He didn't answer, he just winked and grinned.

Sarah read the instructions. "Count five paces from the back door," she said to herself, running away to get in position. "Is that inside or outside?" she asked.

"What are the other directions?" Naomi asked.

"Oh, turn left at the kitchen table. Its inside," Sarah shouted. "Ok, five paces. One, two, three, four, five. Next clue," she added, getting really into it. "Side step right, four paces forward. Ok," she followed that too, counting under her breath. "Turn left at the table," she mumbled. "This is taking me into the dining room," she told Puck, giving him a 'this is so not impressive' look.

"Keep going," Puck urged, glancing at Quinn, they shared a huge smile.

"Ten paces backwards?" Sarah read, looking even more puzzled. "Ok," she sighed and walked backwards while counting out the paces. "Right, so now I'm in the living room," she said, glancing round. "This is going to take me outside, right?" Sarah asked, holding up the page, she'd sort of worked out that she was supposed to walk up and down the living room a couple of times. "It's ok, I can play along," she told her brother. "It's a good job I like puzzle games on Xbox," she informed him. She followed the instructions to the letter, arriving at the front door. "Close your eyes?" she read, looking at Puck again. "Seriously?" she asked.

"Close your eyes," Quinn urged. "Now you can open the door," she added when Sarah sighed heavily then did as she was bid.

Naomi and Connie could see over Sarah's head to the doorstep where Finn Hudson stood, holding the mountain bike that Puck and Quinn had bought for Sarah.

"Happy birthday Sarah," Finn announced, smiling.

"Finn," Sarah cried, leaping forwards. "Bike," she breathed as she noticed what he was holding. "This is my present?" she asked Puck. "You got me a bike? Seriously? I've wanted one like that for forever," she said in awe of the black and red beast in front of her. "You're really cool," she told her brother with a little sob in her throat. "You're the best," she sighed into his shoulder as he caught her when she launched herself at him.

"I only got one little sister," Puck mumbled into her ear. "And I do kinda like you," he added, plonking a smacking big kiss on her head. "Careful," he reminded Sarah as she climbed astride her new bike.

Finn slapped a cycle helmet on Sarah's head before she could set off. "That's from me, didn't think it would be worth wrapping it," he added with a wink as Sarah flew down the drive onto the street. Sarah _loved_ her present.

On Wednesday Finn distributed the t-shirts. Brittany loved hers, it was something she hadn't ever expected to happen, and in all fairness, she wasn't alone in that assessment. Brittany and Santana had matching shirts with 'Sooner Spirit' printed on the front. Both of them had been accepted onto the cheer program at the University of Oklahoma. No one was quite sure how Brittany had managed it, but they were all very pleased for both her and Santana.

Mike's t-shirt had 'Julliard' printed on it. He was thrilled to have been accepted there. Mercedes' t-shirt had 'Miracle Records' printed on it. She was amazed that she'd already been signed up to a label and she'd been able to get into college in LA too. Finn's t-shirt had 'Property of Uncle Sam' on the front of it, he'd already signed up for a minimum of eight years. He was more than a little nervous but he was also looking forward to it.

Tina and Kurt had both been accepted to NYADA. Their shirts had that with an exclamation point. Rachel was ever so slightly jealous of them but she'd already auditioned for an off-off Broadway production of My Fair Lady and had the lead playing Eliza Doolittle, based on the 1960's movie. She was actually more than thrilled about it. Her t-shirt read 'Future Tony Winner'. They were all really proud of her for grabbing her dream with both hands.

Sam's shirt proudly announced his acceptance to 'Knoxville'. He'd won a football scholarship to the University of Tennessee. His family were so incredibly proud, the very first one of them to actually go to college. Artie's shirt had 'Vanderbilt' on it. He'd been accepted on to a cinematography degree course. He was hoping one day to be a director to rival Steven Speilberg.

Blaine had quietly managed to get himself accepted to 'The Sorbonne - Paris' as his t-shirt explained to everyone. No one had any idea that it had been his intention. Kurt was coping. Just.

Finn's idea of funny made both Puck and Quinn raise an eyebrow at him. "These are our shirts?" Puck asked, holding his up to his chest and peering down. He couldn't help but smile at Quinn's though. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Ok, let's get this done," he added.

The girls all went to get into their dark skinny jeans, even Quinn, and their t-shirts. The guys stayed in the choir room and got changed. They too were in dark jeans and their t-shirts.

The whole school waited in the auditorium for the performance from New Directions. Mr Schue was in the wings as usual, supporting his team. "Ok guys, just as we rehearsed. Loving the shirts by the way," he told them with a smile before each of them zipped up their jackets to cover the slogans.

As they had done originally, Kurt, Tina and Mercedes began the number. Brittany and Santana, in place of Lauren, joined them. As the rest of the team came out on stage they were all given a cheer. Quinn and Puck were the last ones to go on.

Holding Quinn's hand, leading her into position in the centre of the stepped platform, Puck and Quinn stood with their backs to the audience. As the rest of the team danced around and got into position, they all got ready to throw off their jackets. Quinn and Puck were still with their backs to the audience. Then it was time. En masse they discarded their jackets. People reading the shirts from the front few rows saw the different universities, career paths that New Directions were looking forward to. The ripple of laughter came when after displaying the 'Construction Crew' slogan on the back of both Quinn's and Puck's shirts, they turned around. The front of Quinn's shirt read 'Little Human Under Construction'. Puck's shirt had 'I Did That' and an arrow pointing in Quinn's direction. They finished out the song and welcomed the cheers and applause they received from the audience in front of them.

Before New Directions began the second number, Finn and Rachel, as team captains took the front of the stage. They both spoke with pride and feeling about the teacher of the year. Quinn caught sight of Sue Sylvester preening in the third row, glancing round acknowledging the words that were being directed at her, even though she hated New Directions with a passion, she would accept their congratulations and applause with thanks. She couldn't wait for the tall one on stage to stop talking and just get on with giving her her prize. It took a few seconds for Sue to realise that it was a different name that had been called out. Her face showed her disbelief and outrage. Quinn couldn't quite stop the huge grin from sneaking onto her face at the sight of Sue's face when realisation finally set in. It made Quinn's year.

"Mr Will Schuester," Finn called, his arm raised to welcome Mr Schue on stage.

Mr Schue was genuinely amazed. And totally thrilled. And so, so satisfied that someone other than Sue Sylvester had won. He walked slowly onto the stage, accepting the congratulations from his team and from the audience who were cheering and clapping. He had to breathe very deeply to hold back the tears when Rachel handed him the trophy with his name engraved on it. He left the stage for New Directions to finish the program with We Are The Champions, several of the team taking solo lines. They were fabulous.

"Ok guys, only one more performance left," Mr Schue reminded them when they were back in the choir room. "I can't believe it. Three years, just like that," he snapped his fingers, "gone in a flash, who'd have thought? Right?" he asked, smiling, shaking his head, looking at each and every team member, remembering little things about them, picking out something to store away for his own memories. "And you are all amazing, I love you all," he said, a sad, teary smile on his face, "and I am so proud of each and every one of you," he added, truth and feeling reverberating in his voice. Within seconds New Directions had enveloped their teacher in a huge hug.

Principal Figgins stood proudly on stage on Friday afternoon calling out every graduating senior's name. Finn was already on stage playing drums, Puck was too, playing guitar, both of them singing Glory Days, both of them in their red graduation gowns. A quarter of the way through the list he called Quinn Fabray.

Quinn walked slowly out onto the stage, she caught sight of her mom and Naomi stood together, both of them clapping and cheering for her. She gave them a little wave of her diploma and took her place in the line up, Puck stopping playing for a second to take her hand to lead her up the steps to stand near the back in her designated spot. He carried on after leaving her there with a kiss on her cheek. Finn's name was bypassed, the next on the list was Kurt Hummel. Burt and Carole both cheered for their boy. As each of the students was called, their family and friends cheered. As each of the New Directions was called, it felt even more like the end of an era. Puck wasn't called when it came to the P's. Quinn wasn't concerned in the slightest, she knew he'd done it, she knew Puck and Finn would be called at the end, they were just providing the entertainment right now. As Lauren Zizes was called, the last of the graduating class, Puck and Finn ended the song. Principal Figgins took the opportunity and called Finn Hudson. Miss Pilsbury handed Finn his diploma, he waved it as the band began an introduction to a song they all knew well. Principal Figgins watched as Miss Pilsbury picked up the last diploma in front of her, he raised his eyes heavenward, his hands clasped in prayer in front of him and sent up not exactly silent thanks. "And finally, thank you Lord," he called, "Noah Puckerman," he drew the name out as the cheers of the whole senior year rang out, drowning out the band, the audience, everyone. All the red caps flew in the air.

New Directions sought each other's gazes, they'd heard the band, they all knew that song. One last time. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Just a small town girl," Finn sang. "Living in a lonely world….."


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: No claim to ownership at all to the characters or the snippet of the song.**

**A/N: The long awaited arrival of Ruby…and acknowledgements at the end of the chapter.**

The last few weeks had dragged on and on and on for Quinn. Puck had been busy every day since graduation, even a couple of the Sundays. In fact, he was busier than ever. He'd been contracted to do some basic ground maintenance on the communal grounds at the apartment building where Shelby and Beth lived. It was also a possibility that the Ellish Chain would extend the contract to the other six blocks. Puck was hopeful, he already cleaned the pools in all seven of the blocks.

"Congratulations," Orla cried, giving Puck a hug when he came home from work on Tuesday, July third.

"Thank you," Puck replied, backing off really quickly, aware of how hot and sweaty he was.

"Good work dude," Dale added his congratulations to his wife's except he chose to high five Puck instead. "So," he added, "this is the start of the Puckerman Empire, I take it?" he asked.

"It will be once I get the qualifications," Puck nodded, smiling, glad to have been accepted on to the course at Owens Community College. "Then I can update my business cards, add landscaping to the pools and yard work I already do," he gave a self-conscious shrug, really pleased with himself. He went to shower, joining everyone outside on the patio once he was more presentable.

"Are we all ready for tomorrow?" Orla asked, her arm resting along the back of Quinn's seat, absently twirling a few strands of her hair. "I really hope my niece makes her appearance tomorrow, it'd be cool to have her party every year on the fourth. Any sign?" she almost begged Quinn, poking her side gently to feel the baby poke back.

"Nada," Quinn sighed, puffing a little with the heat. "I'm going inside, it's too warm out here," she grumbled, standing up.

They all watched Quinn as she swayed towards the kitchen, her body naturally leaning back just a touch to compensate for her front heavy weight. "She looks so fed up," Orla murmured.

"Yeah," Puck agreed, taking a drink of the ice-cold lemonade in front of him, "she is, she's not sleeping so good, she's just uncomfortable all the time," he sighed. It wasn't so comfortable for him either but he knew better than to say that with two women sat at the table.

Quinn went to bed early leaving Puck to chat with Dale in the kitchen, her mom and sister relaxing together in the lounge. "So how are things really?" Dale asked, sipping his beer.

"It's just the waiting now," Puck replied, leaning against the counter. "I'm still nervous for it to happen but ready at the same time," Puck looked up. "Does that make sense?" he asked.

"You mean you're ready to get Quinn back," Dale snickered, almost spitting his beer across the counter top when he caught the look on Puck's face.

"Yeah," Puck laughed along with Dale, "that too, but it's like it's been forever, we've been waiting forever, maybe that's because we knew so early on, but," he blew out a breath, rubbing his face tiredly, "I just want it all to be over and for both of them to be safe, healthy," he said quietly. Dale nodded, he understood, he might never have been in Puck's position, but he got it.

"Quinn ever get round to telling you why she opted for a home birth?" Dale asked. He and Puck had discussed it before, but they hadn't ever come up with a reasonable answer.

Puck gave a snort of laughter, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah," he admitted, then took a deep breath before looking Dale in the eye. "She doesn't want to be in the hospital or the birthing centre in case any of the babies being born when she's there were conceived from my sperm donations. If she has the baby here, there'll only be her for definite," he finished with a sigh, shaking his head, a little disgusted at himself. "Whoever said pregnant women are rational?" he asked, shrugging. "Good night," Puck added quietly as he headed for the stairs. Dale thought it made a hell of a lot of sense, he could see why Quinn had made the choice.

Judy hosted the barbecue for the Fourth of July, Puck's family joining them in the early afternoon and staying till late. Dale and Puck took charge of burning the steaks and burgers. Quinn got more than a little pissed off with everyone asking her every three seconds if she was ok.

"I'm fine," Quinn ground out, her teeth clenched tight together. "Nothing's moved, no twinges, no nothing. I think she's waiting for her tenth birthday before she makes an appearance," she grumbled, still struggling to find a way to sit comfortably for any length of time.

"Aww, babe," Puck said with a smile, his hand stroking the high, tight mound of Quinn's stomach as they sat side by side at the patio table. "She'll come when she's ready. She's not even due till tomorrow," he reminded everyone. Quinn just growled at him. She was getting even more pissed off with Puck for being so considerate and understanding.

"I know she's not," Orla pouted, "but it would be so cool if she was born today."

By quarter to midnight, Orla had given up hope of a Fourth of July baby. By Friday, the day after her due date, Quinn had given up hope of having the baby at all. By Sunday, Puck had given up hope of ever sleeping again. By Tuesday, Quinn had just given up. Totally given up.

"It's the tenth," she wailed. "She's nearly a week late," she cried against Puck's chest. The weather was getting increasingly hotter by the day, Quinn was getting increasingly more uncomfortable by the day, she just wanted this to be over. She was so past all the calls and texts that she'd dropped her phone down the toilet. Deliberately. And now Puck was getting pissed off with the constant calls and texts. At least a hundred times a day he'd had to answer their friends.

"Nope, not yet," he sighed to everyone who called. "She's hanging in there, probably waiting to lull us into a false sense of security," he decided, "she's probably listening to us and laughing at us then she'll come when we're least ready for it, catch us off guard," he joked. But truthfully, he was getting a little worried. Surely, something should be happening by now. They were going to see Zara tomorrow and if nothing was happening by then, Quinn would have to be induced. It wasn't something she particularly wanted, she wanted it all to be natural.

"Have you tried hot sauce?" Naomi asked when they visited Puck's family later that evening after he'd finished work for the day.

"We've tried all sorts," Puck replied with a huge sigh. "We've tried hot sauce, walking for an hour at a time, driving over speed bumps, some weird tea stuff, balsamic vinegar on her salad, you name it, we've tried it," he grumbled. "Still nothing," he added. "Ruby just doesn't want to come out and meet us," he shrugged, looking at Quinn's incredibly pissed off and flushed face.

"Did you try sex yet?" Connie asked, popping some grapes into her mouth.

"Yeah, right Nana," Puck scoffed. "I know that's what the books say, but Quinn's not up for trying that one," he almost pouted. He'd be up for trying that one. More than once if it'd help, he'd already suggested that on Sunday and got told to fuck off. "Are you?" he added hopefully to Quinn, wondering if she was just a little more desperate, wondering if she'd changed her mind.

"Right, that's it Puckerman," Quinn said crossly, getting out of the chair with difficulty. "You're taking me home and we're going to bed. I don't care how many times it takes, we are getting this labour started. Tonight," she vowed. Puck's face lit up, oh yeah, she'd changed her mind alright.

On the short drive home, for the first time in a week, Puck was praying for nothing to start Quinn's labour off, at least till they'd had a chance to give the sex idea a go at least once. "Please Ruby," he begged silently, "just one more night, stay there just a little while longer."

"Hi honey," Judy called as they came through the door. "Your sister's on the phone," she advised Quinn. One look at Quinn's face told her without asking. "No Orla, nothing to report just yet," Judy sighed as Quinn marched straight upstairs, determination on her face. Puck followed closely behind. "Naomi just called though," she whispered to Orla, "I think they're going to try something else to get her started. Be prepared for a call in the middle of the night dear," she said to Orla, quite excited at the thought that her granddaughter's appearance was fairly imminent. "Oh I really hope this works," Judy muttered to herself.

Upstairs in their room, Quinn started dragging her clothes off the second that Puck closed the door behind them. Her face was still set crossly. She was absolutely determined that this was going to work. "This had better work," Quinn thought to herself, turning to see Puck just stood, waiting. "What are you doing way over there?" she asked, her face softening a little.

"I've never had sex with Scary Quinn before," Puck murmured, pushing away from the door. "I was just wondering how I should go about it," he added with a smile. "I mean, do you want to be on top?" he asked, his smile getting bigger as Quinn started to smile with him.

"I'm not Scary Quinn," she denied. "I'm Determined Quinn. Get your ass over here, Puckerman," she demanded, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed. "I read that nipple stimulation can have a positive effect on starting labour," she informed Puck, cupping her breasts and pouting just a little at him.

"I'm sure we can give that a try," Puck agreed, nodding seriously, as he pulled his shirt over his head. His hands dropped to the waist of his jeans. "And I know that sex isn't actually enough, it has to be really good for you, a powerful orgasm can start your contractions, we'll just have to try really, _really_ hard," he said with a little smirk. "I think I'm up for the challenge," he added, stroking his hardening length.

Puck helped Quinn to get settled in the middle of their bed, a pillow under her butt. He worked tirelessly, without thought for himself, finding every one of her sweet spots to give her the ultimate pleasure experience. After he'd had a wonderful encounter, tasting her, using his tongue and fingers to make her fly apart he looked down at her from his position, knelt between her wide spread thighs. "How do you want to do this?" he asked, still stroking her, keeping her shimmering on the edge of another orgasm.

"Like that," Quinn breathed, as he ran his throbbing, pulsing head along her weeping folds. "Just like that," she whispered, licking her dry lips. Puck obliged, staying upright, not entering her very deeply, just enough to put him where he needed to be, enough to make Quinn feel him inside her, his fingers still playing and strumming her. The sudden jerk and the grip of her muscles combined with more than two weeks abstinence were enough to force Puck's own release. He pulled out straight away and grabbed another pillow to shove under her butt, keeping her hips elevated a little. They didn't want the all-important semen to run out, because according to the baby books, that was the magic juice that contained the mix of natural ingredients they needed to help move things along. Puck settled alongside Quinn, one arm slipping under her neck, his lips attaching to her nipple and suckling strongly, the fingers of his other hand still causing her to shudder with the combined sensations. "I'm exhausted," Quinn sighed, spearing her fingers through his closely cropped mohawk, "and I haven't even done anything. Except lay here and ooh," she exclaimed. "Oh God, it worked," she cried, excitedly, nervously. "I'm sure that was a contraction," she added, her eyes shining brightly.

"Well, crap," Puck thought to himself. "It just must have been the right time because there's no way it worked that fast. Still, at least we got to do it one last time before Ruby comes."

Two hours later and Puck was filling the inflated pool in the lounge. It definitely had been the start of Quinn's labour. Zara had called and had left again, she was coming back with everything that she would need to see Quinn through to the actual birth and beyond. Puck had his phone at his ear. "Yep, this is definitely it," he told his mom. "Zara's just gone to get everything she needs, I'm filling the pool, Quinn's coping really well, she hasn't screamed at me yet anyway, or told me I suck," he added, glancing over at Quinn who was doing her breathing exercises. "Any time you want to come over, it's going to be tonight sometime, hopefully," he added just a touch quieter. "Orla and Dale are on their way, they've told Quinn to cross her legs till they get here. I'm going to wait till you're all here before I call the guys and ask them to come, family first, you know?" he shrugged, feeling just a little self-conscious. He looked at the clock on the mantle. Nine thirty. He wondered if their baby would arrive before midnight. He was startled to realise his mom was still on the line. He must have zoned out for a second.

"I get it Noah and we're on our way," Naomi said with a smile. She was so excited for this. "Mom, Sarah," she called after she'd hung up the phone. "It's on, we're going, come on," she cried.

"The baby's really coming?" Sarah asked, excited to meet her niece. "Really?" she asked. Naomi nodded just a little tearfully, biting her lip.

Naomi, Connie and Sarah arrived at Dudley Road long before Orla and Dale. The pool was still barely half full, Puck, already dressed for it in his shorts and a t-shirt, was knelt on the floor behind Quinn as she sat bouncing slightly on the large birthing ball she'd decided at the last moment might be a good idea to have. He was rubbing the small of her back for her, being directed by her to where she needed him to ease her ache most. Quinn currently had a long, loose shirt on, ready to discard when the time came to get in the pool.

"It worked then?" Connie asked, winking at Puck.

"Yeah, it worked," he nodded back, a half smile on his face. "I don't think we needed to do it actually," he admitted. "I bet if we'd driven home the other way and gone over the speed bumps, that would have done the trick too. I think she's just ready," he nodded. "How're you doing?" he asked Quinn.

"Good, I'm good," she answered as she concentrated on her breathing. "It's all good," she added, sighing out a cleansing breath.

The water was nearing the maximum fill level when Orla flew into the house. "We're here, we're here," she cried excitedly, "we haven't missed it have we?" she added, desperate to know that they hadn't. "I was in so much of a hurry I forgot to pick up my phone and Dale didn't charge his," she grumbled, giving her husband a stare that almost cut him in two. "I was worried in case you were trying to reach me, give me an update," she added.

"No, we're all cool, still in the first stage," Puck informed them, "contractions every four to five minutes, lasting forty to fifty seconds, her water broke about an hour ago, we're cool," he repeated, leaning round and smiling at Quinn as she breathed through another contraction, nodding and agreeing with everything he'd said.

Judy went to answer a knock at the door. Zara was back, equipped for the birth of Ruby Puckerman. "Hi there," she said breathlessly as she discarded her wrap. "How are we doing?" she asked Quinn.

"I'm ready to get into the pool I think," Quinn replied a little tremulously.

"I'm just going to wash up then if I can ask you all to give us a minute while I examine Quinn?" Zara said, looking pointedly at the gathered family. Puck stayed where he was and helped Quinn to lie down in readiness for Zara to make her assessment. "That's excellent, five centimetres," Zara pronounced. "Any time you want you can get in. Are you still getting in too Noah?" she asked.

"Yep, we're both showered and clean, the water's the right temperature, the thermometer's there, he nodded towards it. Puck helped Quinn to take off her shirt and dropped his own on top of it before he assisted her into the pool and knelt behind her to support her.

Quinn lay back against Puck's chest, her head resting on his shoulder. "Mmmmm," she hummed through another pain, feeling relaxed in the warmth of the water. Puck murmured soft words of encouragement, their fingers locked together on both hands, giving Quinn something to squeeze if she needed to.

"Can we come back in?" Judy asked from the doorway.

"Mmmm," Quinn nodded, still in the grip of a long contraction. "Yes," she added as it eased slightly. "I want you all here with us," she sighed, concentrating on her breathing.

Connie, Naomi and Orla followed Judy into the room. Orla knelt down at the side of the pool, her gaze on her sister's face. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked quietly.

"No," Quinn sighed, "just be here, be with me," she added with a smile, opening her eyes to see her big sister's watery eyes. "Have you been crying?" she asked with just a touch of wonder. "Why?"

"I'm just so excited to be here to meet Ruby," Orla replied, her chin wobbling a little. "Dale's in the kitchen making hot chocolate with Sarah, I don't think he's quite ready for this," she indicated Quinn's naked form floating just below the surface of the water.

"It's fine, he's in the house, that's the main thing," Quinn smiled. "Mom?" she called over her shoulder slightly. "Could you call Mercedes and ask her if she'd like to come and if she'll call the others? Tell her we're just a little busy right now, she'll understand," she decided. "I'd really like them all to be here. And Shelby and Beth too," she reminded her mom.

"Of course, sweetie," Judy replied, picking up Puck's phone to make the calls.

Within half an hour all of New Directions were at Dudley Road. All of the guys made their way to the kitchen, none of them actually wanted to go into the lounge, the girls had chosen to come in at least to see Quinn for a little while, even if they retreated to the kitchen later when the action heated up. Shelby had sent her apologies, Beth was already asleep in bed. Quinn accepted that they'd come by in the morning.

"Oh," Brittany pouted as she walked into the lounge. "I didn't bring my suit, I didn't realise we'd be swimming," she told Santana sadly. "I love being in the water," she sighed happily.

"I know you do honey, but the pool is for Quinn," Santana explained quietly.

"Puck's in there," Brittany countered, not totally getting why she couldn't go in too. "And Quinn's naked, I don't mind being naked," she added, shrugging, still pouting.

"Brit," Mercedes said gently, her hand resting on Brittany's arm. "Quinn's going to have the baby in the pool, Puck's in there with her to support her," she explained softly.

"Oh-h-h-h," Brittany breathed, finally getting it. "Well, why didn't you say so?" she asked Santana, rolling her eyes. "Is the baby coming now?" she asked brightly.

"Very soon," Zara told them all with a smile, she'd just checked Quinn again. "Eight centimetres, Quinn, you're doing really well, are you sure you don't want the entonox yet?" she asked. "I think we'll just have a quick listen," Zara added, pressing a monitor to Quinn's stomach to pick up the baby's heartbeat. They all heard the strong swishing sound from the small machine that Zara held.

"Mmmmmmmmmm," Quinn hummed as yet another long pain tore through her. "Nnnnnno, not yet," she sighed in answer to Zara as the contraction ended. "Sing to me," she said breathlessly, quietly, turning her face slightly towards Puck's neck.

"What do you want me to sing?" Puck asked, feeling just a little embarrassed at the request but prepared to do anything to make this easier for Quinn.

"Mmmmmmm," Quinn moaned again, barely any time now between contractions, "anything, mmmmmmmm," she ended before breathing out slowly.

"We'll do it all,  
Everything  
On our own

We don't need,  
Anything  
Or Anyone

If I lay here,  
If I just lay here,  
Would you lie with me and just forget the world," he sang softly against her hair, almost too softly for anyone else to hear.

"That is such a lie, Puckerman," Quinn whispered with a little smile. "We need lots of people, all our family, our friends, everyone."

They both looked up at a knock at the lounge door, Puck pulled the towel that they had floating in the pool with them over Quinn. Judy answered it. It was Finn. "Hi, I wondered if it was ok to come in for a while?" he asked quietly.

"Sure," Quinn breathed. "I need to move," she told Puck, her face tight, a crease between her eyebrows.

"How do you want to be?" Puck asked, instantly ready to help. Quinn took position kneeling against the side of the pool, her face resting on her arms. Puck knelt at her back and massaged her, as they'd practiced before. "Better?" he asked her. Quinn hummed and nodded. She still hadn't used the gas that Zara had brought, but she was getting very close to needing to.

With their backs to the main part of the lounge, Puck hummed to Quinn, soothing sounds as he soothed her aching body. A couple more of the guys came into the lounge, even though they weren't sure they wanted to be in the room for the birth, they all wanted to give their support to both Puck and Quinn. More so to Quinn.

"I think I need to push," Quinn groaned to Zara a short while later, gravity and nature taking its course. "I can feel the pressure," she added. "Mom? Can you come and hold my hand, please?" she asked, slightly tearfully. Judy was on her knees in front of Quinn in a second.

"You're doing wonderfully, sweetie," Judy encouraged, proud of her daughter, proud of Puck. The atmosphere was still so calm and relaxed. At the far end of the lounge, the furthest part away from the action, New Directions were gathered, talking very quietly among themselves. Sarah and Dale had joined them. Connie, Naomi and Orla were all at the pool side of the room, almost within touching distance, ready to fulfill any request from Quinn.

Quinn knelt up a little more, Puck at her side, giving Zara room to work if she needed to. Quinn grabbed on to Puck's hand and her mom's and bore down, her head resting against Puck's shoulder. Quinn let loose with a groan that echoed round the room, her head falling back. Puck murmured to her, encouraged her, Judy did the same. Orla came closer as did Naomi. Sarah came to sit with Connie, wanting to be closer but not too close.

Ruby's very first contact with the outside world came after only three pushes from Quinn.

Following Zara's softly spoken instructions, Puck placed Quinn's arm across his shoulder to support her as he reached down ready to guide Ruby up, on Quinn's timescale, when she pushed again. He felt the sting of her nails digging in to his muscles as Ruby's shoulders appeared, the rest of her following without any resistance. Quinn slumped sideways into Puck as he brought the baby out of the water. Everyone of them in the pool, round the pool laughing, crying just overwhelmed with emotion. Quinn grasped her daughter to her breast, Puck's arms wrapping around both of them.

"Oh God, we did it, we did it," Puck breathed into Quinn's damp hair, he could feel his face wet, his eyes stinging and knew he was crying. Quinn shifted just a little, lying in his lap, breathing heavily, unable to string any words together. "You're amazing, look what you did," he cried, kissing her, hugging her tighter as Ruby wailed for the first time. "She's so beautiful," he whispered as he bent to meet Quinn's lips, both of them still in the grip of unbelievable joy, alone amidst the crowd.

Judy pulled the towel over Quinn covering her modesty just a touch as all of their friends came closer to see the new family. Zara monitored, watching how ready Quinn was for the final part of the birth. "Are you ready to do your job daddy?" she asked Puck, holding the instrument out to him. Puck nodded and blew out a nervous breath, even though he knew that cutting the cord wouldn't have any effect on Ruby at all, wouldn't hurt her. He did his job, separating Ruby from her source of nourishment and life for the past nine months.

Ruby must have felt the stare of the world landing on her. She knew without being taught what she needed, her rooting lips gravitating to Quinn's nipple. She suckled strongly, helping Quinn's body to complete the birth.

Puck glanced at the clock, it was one twenty. Wednesday morning. Where had the time gone? It felt like seconds ago that he'd called his mom asking them to come over. It felt like a lifetime ago. "Did anyone notice the time?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder. "What time was she born?"

"One oh three," Finn answered quickly. "I was watching the clock," he shrugged a little.

Zara took Ruby once she was finished eating, running through her checks. "Are you ready to shower?" Puck asked Quinn. She was still relaxing against him.

"Yeah, I think I am," she replied tiredly. "Could you pass me my robe, please Orla?" Quinn asked her sister, her arm outstretched. "Thanks," she added as Orla did as she asked.

"Can you give us a minute please guys?" Puck asked, knowing that there was no delicate way of getting Quinn from the water, naked as she was. As soon as everyone had trooped out of the lounge, Puck helped Quinn to stand on wobbly legs. He wrapped her in a waiting towel and her robe then carried her to the downstairs bathroom. "We'll just be real quick," he promised Quinn as they both showered off, knowing that she was itching to get back to their beautiful baby who was currently becoming acquainted with both of her grandmothers, her aunts and her great nana.

In the lounge everyone was mesmerised by the tiny little girl. Puck, now dressed again in the clothes he'd stored in the bathroom, helped Quinn back into the lounge, she was dressed in pyjamas now too, everything she'd required had been placed there too as part of the birth preparations.

Quinn sat tiredly yet strangely energised. Puck brought the small tub of warm water that Judy had run for him. He put it on the floor near Quinn's feet. He gathered all the things they needed to give Ruby her first bath and to dress her. Puck carried the baby from his mom's arms and handed her to Quinn. Between them they performed the simple, every day task, but it was so much more, it was a bonding between all three of them, it was beautiful.

Dressed and ready to meet the world, Ruby Puckerman lay in her mommy's arms while her daddy invited all of their friends into the lounge. As everyone exclaimed and ahh'd over the baby, Puck finished jobs that he knew needed to be done. The pool had to be emptied and cleaned, just the general detritus of the birth of a human being to be disposed of. They had plans for the placenta and at dawn they would put them into action.

At three in the morning, everyone finally drifted away. Puck helped Quinn up the stairs to their room then went back to collect their baby from the two doting grandparents. "She's really beautiful Noah," Naomi whispered as she hugged her son. "I'm so proud of you, you were wonderful tonight, everything that Quinn needed, you did a good job," she finished with a sniff.

"Thanks mom," Puck replied, his voice thicker than he'd expected, feeling emotional all over again. "You're staying right?" he asked, hoping that all the family would be present for the planting.

"Yes, we're staying the night," Naomi nodded. "Sarah and your Nana are already asleep," she told him.

"Just another couple of hours and we'll do it, ok?" he asked, nodding along with his mom. "Judy, thank you, for everything," he added, taking Judy's hand, kissing her cheek, as he held Ruby in one arm. "I'm going to take her up to bed for a while, we'll be back soon, ok?" he added, gazing down at his beautiful sleeping baby.

Quinn was almost asleep when Puck tiptoed into the bedroom. "Hey, look who's here," he whispered. "It's your mommy," he added, lifting Ruby to kiss her cheek. He walked over to the window where the Moses basket lay ready for her to sleep in. "You look just like your mommy and your big sister which means you're going to grow up very beautiful," he told her as she slept. "And tomorrow you get to meet another special little girl, Beth, she's going to love you so much. And one day you'll both know how special you both are. You're special because me and your mommy love you both very, very much," he whispered, his nose nuzzling the fine hair covering her head. "Very soon we're going to go outside, it'll be your first time out there and we're going to plant your placenta underneath a rose bush, it's called Ruby Baby, because that's you, you're Ruby Puckerman," he continued, talking to the baby in hushed tones. "And it'll grow big and strong, just like you will, with me and your mommy to take care of you, love you," he added, his voice getting even quieter. "You know, she's a very special person, your mommy," he told his daughter. "She loved you so much from the very second she knew about you, she wanted you, she'll always protect you, take care of you, just like I will. I'll always love both of you," he added with a little smile, becoming aware that Quinn wasn't quite as asleep as he'd first thought, then he kissed Ruby again before he laid her in her bed and grinned, his voice getting just a touch louder. "Especially your mommy because sometimes she needs someone to look out for her, she does stupid stuff sometimes but it doesn't matter, I'll always love her because to me, she'll always be hot like a pixie."

**Thank you to Brit Brat1992, Olacindy, andsoitis2, bunnygleek, Alex B Goode, Gleekalwaysand4ever, walkinthegardengnome, BMontague, Destroyer of Nations, ems5892, lexiepuckerman-evans14, Quickgirl75, f1lo, misguided ghost777, miss agron, SalvatoreGirl for the reviews and comments on this story along with numerous 'guest' reviews. To the one guest who's review read "No. Gay Finn is not ok. Finchel forever bitch!" I'd have been more impressed if you'd have had the balls to leave your name too. **

**The story is now at an end, thank you for reading, xxx**


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